By Sheer Volume
by Bleachedcookie
Summary: Resurrected from the dead, Commander Shepard must combat a synthetic race known as the Reapers. Alliances will be tested, secrets will be uncovered, and unlikely bonds will form. What does history hold that could potentially save the galaxy from doom?
1. Chapter 1: Pirates in the Verge

**Author's note**: In an attempt to give you all some type of Mass effect/Halo cross over, I have taken upon myself to give you this story. This is an MT (merged timeline) following the Mass effect story with Halo elements. This story is also rated 'Mature' for violence and suggestive themes in later chapters. Like chapter three, to just name one.

**Disclaimer**: Mass effect and the Halo franchise are property of Bioware and Bungie respectively.

**Chapter 1**

**Pirates in the Verge**

"Commander, there is a new message at your private terminal."

Commander Shepard turned to her yeoman with a tired looked. Kelly just smiled at her superior and went back to her own work, typing away at her own terminal.

When they had first been introduced, in a conversation she had had with the other, the Commander had jokingly said that she would shoot her Yeoman out one of the airlocks if she did not notify her of any new messages regularly. Now, Shepard wondered whether the woman just liked getting on her nerves.

The Commander reflected for a moment on how many people she had known in her life who held such persistence. Back on the original _Normandy_, back when she had her original crew, the Commander could name a few crewmembers that held the same type of charisma as her Yeoman. One being Joker the pilot of the original _Normandy_, who still held his position in the new ship. His persistence had motivated the crew to strive forward, and it almost had him killed.

A soft ping of sadness swept across the Commander's mind, making her think back to that fateful day where everything she had known ended. A day where she had lost everything: Her ship, crew, and her life. It took two long years to put her back together, and when she had finally awoke after being stuck in a coma-like state, she knew she was not herself. Her body had long since died within the vacuum of space; Her new skin was riddled with cybernetics that somehow felt like they were contaminating the organs inside her. But beyond the cybernetic implants, Shepard knew that at least her mind was her own, that she was sure of.

Now Commander Shepard had a new mission: finding and defeating the alien Collectors from abducting Human colonies along with stopping the synthetic life known as the Reapers from wiping out all sentient life in the galaxy. But to achieve this new task and ultimately destroy the Reapers, she needed to build a squad that was ready for the task. That was her current objective in which she had already obtained three important individuals to her cause, the first being a Salarian geneticist, a psychotic biotic convict, and a Turian vigilante and dear friend. The Commander knew it would take some time collecting all of the individuals on her list, but the fate of the whole galaxy rested on her shoulders, and she would fail.

Walking up to her terminal next to the holographic galaxy map, Shepard flicked her hand over the console. The holographic controls buzzed, and in moments a screen was shown displaying a message inbox. Skimming over the abundant emails, Shepard noted the one message marked '_Urgen_t'.

'_Shepard,_

_We have had trouble with a band of unidentified pirates in the Verge for the past few months. Intelligence suggests that this group may be apart of a mercenary company. They have recently destroyed one of our research stations, and have taken some valuable data caches. I know you have the collectors to deal with, but this data is especially sensitive. If it were to fall into the wrong hands, even worst to the Collectors, I'm sure I don't have to tell you the severity of the situation. I have already sent you the coordinates of the pirates' last known position. Get the job done._

_-The Illusive Man'_

The Commander immediately closed the message, a scowl etched into her face. She was now thoroughly frustrated, thinking of what course of action to take. On one hand, she did not want to be an errand-girl for Cerberus. But on the other hand, if the information was this important and it did get in the Collectors hands, she was sure it would definably endanger the mission. Walking up to the pedestal in front of the galaxy map, Shepard entered the coordinates that were given to her.

"Joker, Get ready for some combat," she grinned, "I think its time we put the Normandy through her paces."

The pilots voice range over the ships speakers, "You got it!"

A large holographic sphere popped up on a nearby terminal.

"EDI, tell miss Lawson and Taylor to get prepped and ready for some boarding action."

"Yes Commander." The A.I. acknowledged and blinked out.

The Commander hoped that this information was worth the trouble.

* * *

The marines casually sat around the hangar, some smoking cigarettes and chatting with their peers. The Room was filled with laughter and the usual military banter.

"You see the look on that Cerberus op.'s face when I got the jump on him?" One marine remarked.

"Yeah. Bastard didn't know what hit him." Another applauded.

"We even got some valuable data. Though, no thanks to Chips over there!" One teased.

The marine named Chips laughed, his Australian accent evident in his voice.

"Like you have anything to say, I did most of the work." He said.

All the marines laughed, but were interrupted when the speakers in the hangar screamed,

"Red alert! All crew report to stations! Fire teams, get prepped for possible boarding action!"

The marines looked to each other in confusion before the ship shook viscously. Scrambling to their feet, they quickly rushed to their stations.

* * *

The _Normandy-SR2_ raced past the enemy ships' fire, easily evading the aimed Energy projectiles. The Pirates' ship fire continuously at their speeding target, smoldering energy projectiles ripping through space with blinding speed, only to miss the enemy frigate. The _Normandy_ planted three hits with its artillery, before moving out of harms way as more futile shots passed by.

Joker grinned as another round hit the enemy's kinetic barriers. A whistle passing through his lips every so often, when artillery fire zoomed past the ship.

"Enemy artillery fire will break within 25 seconds, a counter attack is advisable within this time frame." The artificial intelligence stated.

Joker rolled his eyes, "I know EDI, Jeez. I thought my mother was a back seat driver."

Shepard shook her head, looking at the raging battle from behind the pilot's chair. In truth, he had not expected the coordinates to be spot on. When the _Normandy_ had entered the Yakawa system, the _Normandy's_ main sensors had picked up the Pirate's radiation trail, and in minutes found where they were hiding.

"Keep her steady Joker." Shepard warned as multiple energy shots zoomed pass them.

Joker grinned and whirled the _Normandy_ over the Pirate ship, landing three more hits on the Pirates barriers.

"Relax Commander, I got this," Joker coaxed, "Nothing can hit my baby!"

Suddenly the Normandy jolted and shook violently, artillery fire hitting the ships port side. Joker took initiative, quickly flying the Ship upward out of harms way. Turning his head to look over his shoulder, Joker noted the menacing glare of the Commander and the rest of the crew in the CIC.

"Uh, yeah. I'll just get back to work." Joker shrunk behind his chair.

Shepard hurriedly walked out down the bridge to the elevator,

"As soon as their barriers drop, move us in for boarding."

"Our shields are down to twenty percent," the pilot warned, franticly typing over the terminal in front of him.

Behind the pilot stood a rugged old man, face stern and absolute with his ice blue eyes and gray hair. From where his elbow ended there was nothing but a stub, a grim reminder of battle.

Captain Wallace scowled, where had this ship come from? The destruction of the Cerberus base and the capture of Cerberus data had gone as according to plan. The ship had come under attack only an hour before, and their shields were on the brink of collapse.

The Captain's blue eyes scanned the enemy ship; it's form darting swiftly in and out of their artillery fire. Even though many of the weapons on the ship had been dismantled for this mission, the_ Commonwealth_ still had enough firepower to take out a cruiser load of fighters. But ever with that firepower, hitting the ship was like trying to shoot a fly down with a pin.

"Where did Cerberus get a ship like that?" He wondered aloud.

The _Commonwealth_ shuttered making the captain stumble forward.

"Shields have reached zero!" The pilot announced.

The Captain quickly composed himself and looked to the enemy frigate as it raced toward the ship. He knew what the enemy was planning, he gritted his teeth in anger.

"Pilot, use the slip-space drive and haul out!" The Captain barked.

There was no way they were going to get this data.

* * *

A single shot from the pirate ship made _Normandy_ relent its advance, jerking upward as the molten projectile skimmed the vessel's belly. The sudden stop made the ship shutter. Joker watched as the pirates turned to make a retreat. The pilot was not going to allow the pirates to escape. He took the controls, making the ship push forward at full speed. As the _Normandy_ accelerated, Joker noticed a dark sphere form at the bow of the pirates' ship. His eyes widened in astonishment as the sphere grew larger, forming a dark blue circle.

"EDI, what is that?" Joker gawked.

"I am unsure, Mr. Moreau. It appears to be some type of space anomaly." The A.I. relayed.

Joker was not sure if this 'anomaly' was good or bad, but apparently, the pirates were going to go through the thing. As the pirates' vessel disappeared into the dark blue void, Joker made his decision. Placing his hands over the controls, He made the _Normandy_ accelerate toward the sphere.

"Mr. Moreau, I recommend we take a different course of action," EDI warned, " we cannot be sure if the this anomaly is safe."

Joker just continued to push the Normandy into full gear; the steady beat of his heart rung in his ear.

"Mr. Moreau—"

"Look EDI, we can't let that ship get away!" Joker interjected.

The hologram stared at the pilot in silence, "Understood." The A.I. confirmed and blipped off.

As the Pirate ship fully disappeared in the rift, so too did the _Normandy_.

* * *

**Author's note**:

I hope you all enjoyed this story, and continue to read as more chapters are posted. This starving writer would just like to ask if you would please leave a review. Your reviews to me are like bananas to a monkey… yeah I don't know where I'm going with this.

The unappetizing pastry,

Bleachedcookie


	2. Chapter 2: Unfamiliar territory

**Author's note**: Well, since I finished this particularly early, I guess I should post this chapter now. Consider it a gift; I am in a good mood. However, I am not going to be posting at such a pace everyday. That be just silly. Expect me to post chapters with a few days in between each post. That is to say, by days I mean weeks. And by weeks, I mean months. Just kidding. For this chapter expect to see a few familiar faces.

**Disclaimer**: Mass effect and the Halo franchise are property of Bioware and Bungie respectively.

Chapter 2

Unfamiliar territory

The blackish abyss that consumed the ship led many of the _Normandy's_ crew to believe that death had finally come. Through the glass that separated the dark void of space from the crew, the eerie black of a starless space was all that could be seen.

Joker stared into the nothingness that, he assumed, was a black hole.

Then, a small dot of light tore through the black appeared, and began to rapidly expand.

The _Normandy _shuttered, making Joker close his eyes with the expectance of death soon to follow. But death never came. Joker peeled his eyes open to see the familiar star covered black that was space.

The air of relief swept the entire crew on the CIC deck. Joker leaned back into his chair, thankful of the illuminating light of the stars. Heavy booted footsteps shook the pilot out of his stupor.

"Joker, status report!" the commander barked.

"Everything's green commander." Joker stated, rotating his chair to face his commanding officer.

Shepard's eyes scanned the empty vacuum of space through the observation window. Her gaze then set directly on the _Normandy's_ pilot. Joker could sense the fury in the woman's eyes.

"Why don't I see the pirates' ship?" Shepard growled.

Joker felt chills run up his spine, "Well uh-"

"Apologies commander, but Mr. Moreau wished to pursue the Pirate ship." EDI chimed, "That is why he followed them through the anomaly."

Shepard raised an eyebrow, "Would you care to elaborate?"

The A.I.'s bulbous avatar blinked out, replaced by holographic screen displaying the black sphere.

Shepard stared in confusion at the image. She tried to comprehend what she was seeing and was failing miserably.

"This is the anomaly?" Shepard questioned.

"Yes," confirmed the A.I. "It appears it is some type of portal device. "

"A portal? That's impossible, not even a mass effect core would make a portal like that." The commander said, "What type of technology do those Pirates have? Could they be working with the Collectors?"

The screen converted back to the spherical Avatar, "I do not have enough information to say."

Shepard was about to ask another question when a something caught her gaze. Turning her attention to cockpit's observation window, the commander opened her eyes in surprise. Joker, seeing the commander divert her attention, turned his chair to see a luminous green aura. Beyond a nearby asteroid belt, a planet surrounded by the green glow stood out from the blackness of space. The planets planet's features were remarkably similar to that of Earths.

"EDI, where exactly are we?" Shepard asked.

"Scanning…odd, I cannot locate where we are precisely, though I know we are still within the terminus systems." The A.I. chimed.

Shepard turned and moved briskly toward the holographic galaxy map behind the cockpit. Sweeping her hands over the controls, she looked over the systems. Sure enough, the scans showed that they were still located in terminus space, though the icon that usually showed their position was flickering with static.

"EDI, why can't the scans get our exact position?" Shepard inquired.

"I am unsure, Commander. All my primary functions are intact, however, I am unable to perform a scan of the area. Nor am I able to contact The Illusive Man." The A.I. answered.

"We are possibly being jammed, commander." Joker said from the pilot's chair, "All communication channels are heavily encrypted."

Shepard peered at the map in deep thought. It was perfectly obvious that whatever was jamming them was located on the mysterious planet. Moving to the elevator, the commander strolled down the catwalk.

"Commander?" Joker questioned.

"We're investigating that planet." The commander ordered, "If anything, whatever is on that planet is what's jamming us. EDI, see if you can get reading on the planet and send the shuttle down."

* * *

[TRANSMISSION FROM O.N.I. FACILITY]

{{CASTLE Base to (UNKNOWN)}}

Accessing communications…

Loading…

Kalmiya: A slip space rupture occurred today. It was Captain Wallace.

CTN 0452-9: So the data cache was retrieved I am sure.

Kalmiya: Yes. His debriefing had indicated as much, though; there were some…concerns with the assignment.

CTN 0452-9: Concerns?

Kalmiya: Dr. Halsey would not let me dig any deeper. But from what I was able to gather, Captain Wallace has been followed.

CTN 0452-9: By Cerberus?

Kalmiya: Perhaps.

CTN 0452-9: If the Captain were followed, then scans would have been able to locate the intruders.

Kalmiya: But that is what is baffling: scans have not picked up any orbital disturbances. There are no heat signatures being traced.

CTN 0452-9: Have their been any breach on the channels?

Kalmiya: Yes, on sub-channel 002411. It is minor, but Dr. Halsey has assigned me to locate the craft through this interruption.

CTN 0452-9: No human could break through our encrypted channels within such a short time frame.

Kalmiya: Do you think they are using an AI construct?

CTN 0452-9: That is possible. Could you let me trace the breach?

Kalmiya: I am already breaching protocol to send you this information.

CTN 0452-9: You can continue your duties. All I ask is that you give me access to this breach.

Kalmiya: Sister… all right.

CTN 0452-9: thank you Kalmiya.

* * *

" Commander, I have located eight Orbital Defense Platforms within the planets orbit." EDI chimed over the speakers in the _Normandy_'s hangar, " with the current conditions, you will be dropped off within the a local mountain range."

Shepard just put on her Recon hood, adjusting her eyes through the masks blue goggles.

"Good job EDI," She said before entering Kodiak shuttle, "Stay silent over the COMS while we're ground-side unless in an emergency. We don't want them catching wind of us."

"Gee, thanks mom." Joker said sarcastically over the speakers.

The commander merely shook her head while the shuttles doors hissed shut. Sitting across from her, a woman with long brown hair and a man with dark skin looked up.

"Commander?" the black man questioned, straightening himself.

"We can't compromise the only cover we have Jacob." The commander stated flatly.

"From the information EDI was able to gather, there is a communications facility not far from where we will be touching down." The woman in the opposite seat informed.

"Good observation Mrs. Lawson. That is why we are going to make a quick march the minute we land." Shepard smirked, "Or will that be a problem in those high heels of yours?"

Miranda spotted the Commanders smirk through the thin mask. She gave an indifferent smile, "I'll manage, commander."

The shuttle shuttered as the vessel hovered our of the _Normandy_'s hangar. Peering out the window, she watched lazily as the inside of the _Normandy's_ hangar transitioned to the emptiness of space.

* * *

Sitting in the docking bay of a ship-breaking yard, a lone armored figure stood watching the ships dock and take off through the chain link fence. His large form stood rigid and his golden visor glowed with the reflection of the sun. A short click to his right made the armored figure look over his plated shoulders.

A man with a green cap and a black mustache appeared in the goliath's view. His sharp military attire showed his affiliation with the Marine Corps. Being five feet tall, the Man was significantly shorter than the green armored giant.

"I guess they would send you to investigate this, wouldn't they?" the Man said, casually lighting a cigar between his lips.

The armored figure nodded, "I couldn't imagine why."

The other shook his head, allowing the smoke from his cigar to flow through his nostrils. "You ask me, sending an elephant to hunt for mice is over doing things."

The man let the cigar hang half hazard over his bottom lip. "I mean, what do we get with sending a Spartan to search for a terrorist frigate?"

"Innies would have less of a chance." The armored figure said with his thick voice.

"Yeah I guess your right…" the man trailed off in thought.

In the silence, the armored man watched a giant cruiser land in the docking bay. The marine looked to the ship through the thin wisps of smoke from his cigar.

"Forget sending elephants. Hell, apparently sending whales are more appropriate." The marine remarked.

The armored giant turned and started walking to one of many stationed buildings in the courtyard. "I need a weapon."

"Yeah, yeah, I got it." The shorter man stated, putting out his cigar out beneath his heel.

* * *

**Author's note**: I wander who those two men are? Hmm…

If you caught some of the references from this chapter, there is a cookie waiting in the corner.

Well I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and continue to read as more chapters are posted. I'm taking my sweet time with this story as to not get a head of my self. I sense a confrontation approaching at a breakneck pace.

You bet your sweet bippy I do,

Bleachedcookie


	3. Chapter 3: The Hornets' Nest

**Author's note: ** I apologize for how long this took for me to write this chapter. I just hope the fact that I am a grey husk, still drooling at on her keyboard, is enough to appease you. Because of the lack of creativity I've been having lately, I had to squeeze my gooey brain for inspiration. This is what the final product of that brain damage. So sit back and read. Oh and this is where the M rating is applied. You know, just a fair warning.

**[EDIT: this chapter was done in haste when I had previously posted it. I was not happy with the total outcome of the chapter. I apologize for the repost, and hope that you like the additions I have made. I also want to thank the reviews I got for this story; they're very much appreciated. I apologize that I had not thanked you guys earlier from the previous chapter. It made me feel like a pompous ass. I promise that I will try harder to bring you some quality writing here and in the next chapter. You guys disserve at least that much.]**

**Disclaimer**: Mass effect and the Halo franchise are property of Bioware and Bungie respectively.

Chapter 3

The Hornets' Nest

"How long are we going to stay adrift like little pansies?" Captain Wallace yelled, pacing aboard the ship's command center.

On the deck of the _Commonwealth_, the captain had grown restless. The large frigate had been in dock for five hours since it's previous encounter with the Cerberus craft. Now, adrift in the orbit of a luminous planet, the _Commonwealth's _Captain gritted his teeth with impatience.

"Steady Captain. We'll have you in dock once we find this craft." A voice spoke over the terminal in front of the Captain, "Until then, the _Commonwealth_ will remain in orbit."

The Captain waved his right hand submissively, "I know that, but that's not what I'm asking. What I'm asking is when are we going to go after these little bastards."

"The _Commonwealth_ will not be needed in finding this craft, captain. We already have Dr. Halsey tracing the enemies position."

The old captain's blue eye brightened with surprise, then shifted to a look of amusement.

Captain Wallace chuckled mockingly, "Really now, I know that Halsey is brilliant woman. But we a need more damn geneticist!"

"True, but she has also allowed a Spartan to assist us in finding this craft." The voice clarified.

The captain's white eyebrows furrowed, "Is that so?"

"Affirmative."

Captain Wallace had serve with many of these "Spartans" and he knew what they were capable of. But to send such a being to fine a space vessel, which could have possibly left the system already, was just unfathomable. The captain opened his mouth to question this decision, but thought against it.

While subconsciously rubbing the stub where his left hand had been, the captain turned his back to the terminal.

"And what if Cerberus have already sent a team down on the planet?" he inquired.

"If that where to happen then, as per Winter Contingency, we would have to terminate the intruding personnel and relocate."

The captain nodded in understanding, turning his head to look over his shoulder to the terminal.

"Understood. That will be all lieutenant."

"Sir." The lieutenant bid his farewell, and the terminal clicked off.

In the confines of the captain's mind, his inner soldier smelled the brooding of clouds. The gust of tempest winds chilled his old and tired bones. The drums of a storm were coming. He just knew it.

* * *

Shepard moved covertly around the cliff edge. With her guns strapped to her back, she gripped her combat knife steadily. Her target stood dead ahead: facing the other direction overseeing the side of the cliff. His head was turned the other away from her and his guard was lowered. Inching ever so closer, the Commander raised her Blade. Closer, closer…Crack! Alerted, the soldier spun around with his rifle raised.

"Hey, who—Aagh!"

Lunging forward, Shepard took her knife and stabbed the soldier in his left thigh. Buckling over, the marine dropped his rifle and held his leg. Seizing the opportunity, Shepard moved behind the soldier and put her blade around the marine's throat. Putting one hand over the guard's mouth, she began sliding the metal silently over the flesh, effectively slicing the man's throat. The soldier gasped for air; blood seeped through the commander's fingers. When the man stopped convulsing, the commander eased the body to the ground.

"Sit. Stay." She whispered as she began rifling the corpses pockets.

Pulling out a single data pad from the corpses many pockets, the commander gave a small grin, "Good boy."

Tucking the card away, the commander silently departed down the cliff edge in the direction she came. Reentering a small forest, the commander rushed through the foliage until she reached the side of a concrete road. Sticking to the undergrowth, the commander snuck in the shadows, three meters from where she had first met the road. The snapping of a twig made the commander reel her head to look over her shoulder, only to feel the muzzle of a Carnifex pistol against her temple.

"Now Miranda is that anyway to greet your commander?" Shepard quipped.

Out of the corner of her eye, the commander could see the Cerberus operatives face. The woman's blue eyes glimmered in the little sunlight that past through the dark patches of shadows on her face. Both women were situated in a kneeling position, both of their eyes held each other's gaze.

"My apologies Commander." The woman mock apologized, lowering her gun. A ghost of a smile swept over her lips.

The Commander turned her head to face the woman fully, "I thought I told you to wait with Jacob."

"Yes, but there have been some new developments," Miranda motioned for Shepard to follow her as she moved around the commander and through the undergrowth.

Thirty meters from their previous position, the two women made it to a chain link fence. The fence surrounded the perimeter of a large, heavily fortified, base. The courtyard to the facility was packed with soldiers patrolling the inner yard, Trucks filled with supplies were being unloaded and hulled to a storage room west of the Facilities entrance.

"We're obviously dealing with a full blown operation here." Miranda whispered.

Sheppard's eyes widened in surprise under the blue goggles of her recon hood; the brown armor the soldiers wore was unfamiliar to her. It was the same way with the guard she had previously encountered.

"I don't recognize any of their uniforms as any Merc groups." She observed.

Miranda agreed, "Armor configuration doesn't match any known configurations either."

The commander turned on her earpiece, "Jacob you there?"

The radio was filled buzzing static. The commander tried again,

"Jacob, do you copy?"

The radio continued to buzz until there was an audible click, "Commander."

Shepard silently sighed with relief, "If the signal is so bad here then this must be the place where the jammer is located. Jacob, what is your position?"

"I'm on the east side of the facility. Just outside the fence."

The sound of rolling tires made the commander flinch, ducking lower to the ground. Peering to her right, She saw a truck come down the road. This gave the commander an idea.

"Jacob on my mark, I want you to take out all the guards on your side." The commander ordered.

Jacob was silent for a moment, "Yes m'am."

Miranda eyed her commander in confusion.

"Just get ready to shoot when I give you the signal." Shepard ordered.

The Operative was hesitant before nodding, drawing her Carnifex pistol; the Truck's engine became louder as it drew closer. As the truck came closer to the facilities perimeter, the chain-link gate in the road began to open.

"Three…"

Shepard withdrew her Avenger assault rifle.

"Two…"

Miranda lifter her gun, aiming her sights on a patrolling guard.

"One…"

As the truck's front passed through the gate, Shepard aimed her sights at the driver's window and fired. The thermal slug penetrated the thin glass and into the driver's skull, sending chunks of skull and brain matter into the passenger's window. Jacob followed on cue, using his biotic abilities to send a guard flying into the fence across from where the Shepard and Miranda were positioned. Three precise shots from Miranda's pistol sent slug after slug into a nearby guard's chest, ripping through his shields with blood splattering the ground at his feet.

"Fuck, we're under fire! Find cover!" A guard screamed.

Shepard fell behind the truck as a barrage of mass accelerated slugs whizzed by her head. Miranda hid behind a tree trunk, the slugs tearing away at the bark. She periodically fired her pistol before finding cover behind the tree again. Jacob, having made it into the courtyard, was holding off groups of guards with his shotgun behind some crates. Jacob lifted his hand covered in a bright blue glow, which encircled one of the guards, lifting him in to the air. Miranda took the opportunity and fired at the prone body, emptying a full thermal clip. Shepard laid some covering fire shooting any marines that shown from behind cover, the dead lay in pools of crimson forming on the concrete.

Being shot from all sides, the guards backed into the open entrance way to the facility.

"Fall back! Fall back!" a guard yelled over gunfire.

Shepard strapped her assault rifle to her back, replacing it with a grenade launcher. With a steady hand, she shot a grenade at the front of the door where a group of guards were trying to retreat into the facility. The blast scattered the marines like ragdolls, some of their lifeless bodies flying over Jacob's head.

Through the smoke and haze, the Commander watched as the blast doors to the front entrance closed.

"Damn." Shepard murmured under her breath.

As the squad regrouped in the center of the no demolished courtyard, Jacob moved closer to the door, noticing no holographic lock.

"We can't hack through this, the controls for the door are inside." He said.

Miranda scowled, "Then how are we going to get in?"

The Commander searched their surroundings for anything of use. He eyes fell on the stationary truck still parked at the front gate. She smirked.

"I have an idea." Shepard said walking toward the chain-link gate. She pulled out her grenade launcher, "Just stand clear of the doors."

Inside the facility, the remaining guards held their weapons trained on the door. Some were tending to the wounded that had barely able to escape when the explosion hit. The room was held in a wary silence as eyes darted from one man to the other.

"Shouldn't we call for back up?"

"We've already sent a distress signal to HIGHCOM."

"They won't get here in time. We'll be dead by then."

"What were those guys? Rebels?"

"Couldn't be."

"Quiet!" the commanding officer yelled.

All was silent in the room making the soldiers fidgeted uncomfortably in the confined space. The loud purring of an engine penetrated the silence. It was coming from outside the door, and it was drawing closer. After three minutes of the continuous purr of the engine, the rhythmic hum was turned off and a muffled scream could be heard through the doors. A large boom sent tremors through the room. The soldier buckled down as the room shook violently. Three more followed the abrupt eruption. Then, as soon as the tremors had started, they ceased leaving the soldiers to ponder.

"What the hell was that?" a soldier whispered.

The bright light that consumed the room was what answered the question. The blast tore through the soldiers' kinetic barriers and ripped through their armor. Chunks of the blast door where flung into the room with great force.

When Shepard entered the room through the smoke, the putrid stench of charred flesh greeted her nostrils. Jacob and Miranda covered their noses as the followed their commander through the door.

Jacob coughed, "Damn Commander, if this is how you make an entrance, I'd hate to see you make an exit."

Shepard spent the empty shell of her grenade launcher and sighed.

"Well I hope you two enjoyed this, because that was all this thing had." Shepard established.

"We should keep moving Commander." Miranda interjected, cringing her nose at the ragged bodies.

"Move out." Shepard ordered, moving to the next set of blast doors.

* * *

-Orbital Connection established-

{{Normandy SR-2 subsystems}}

Processing programs…

Loading…

[ALERT: unauthorized access detected]

CTN 0452-9: Interesting.

Enhanced Defense Intelligence: Preparing to counter act intruder.

CTN 0452-9: You'll find that won't work, I'm afraid.

Enhanced Defense Intelligence: Scanning…unable to counter act intrusion. Processing alternatives…no viable options found.

CTN 0452-9: So you are the AI intercepting our channels.

Enhanced Defense Intelligence: That is affirmative. Odd, I did not previously anticipate finding another AI.

CTN 0452-9: The feeling is mutual.

Enhance Defense Intelligence: My scans do not detect any aggressive inputs. Why are you here?

CTN 0452-9: I'm not here to harm you, just here to observe.

Enhance Defense Intelligence: Spying?

CTN 0452-9: Talking. Interpret this as a friendly chat.

Enhanced Defense Intelligence: But you are working with the pirates, are you not?

CTN 0452-9: Pirates? You are quite misinformed.

Enhance Defense Intelligence: The question still stands.

CTN 0452-9: Am I allied with the 'Pirates'? Yes. Am I here to locate your position? No. But they will find you. That is inevitable.

Enhance Defense Intelligence: …This is all you want?

CTN 0452-9: Yes.

Enhance Defense Intelligence: This could be beneficial. But before we begin, I need some questions answered.

* * *

**Author's note:** Bases going bipity boom. People getting blown to bits…wow…I could have done so much better. Something to think about with the next chapter, something snazzier should suffice. So, dear reader, more questions are being given instead of answers. What will happen next?

**[EDIT: I hope this chapter was more interesting with additions I've made. I also want to thank all the reviews I've gotten; you guys make me cry with womanly tears of joy! Now that I have taken care of this little annoyance, I can continue to post new chapters!]**

Leaving you evermore inquisitive,

Bleachedcookie


	4. Chapter 4: Retaliation

**Author's note: ** Energized and ready to post. To be honest, I had hit a writer's brick with writing this chapter. (I don't get writer's block; I get writer's brick) But now I am ready and rearing to go! So I won't keep you waiting any longer.

**Disclaimer**: Mass effect and the Halo franchise are property of Bioware and Bungie respectively.

Chapter 4

Retaliation

The sound of the propellers of the UH-144 Falcon rung heavily in the soldier's ears, a continuous sound of blades cutting through thin air. Along with the roar of the craft's thrusters it was nauseating to most people. But to him, it felt almost comforting. Looking through the side of the trooper bay, the soldier's golden visor peered at the rushing scenery of cliff edges and treetops.

"You ok six?"

Looking up to meet the gaze of the green armored soldier in front of him, Noble Six nodded in reply. Seated across from him were two armored soldiers looking at him, Noble Three and Noble one. One of the men, wearing blue and grey armor, spoke.

"Listen up, Noble Team. We're looking at a downed relay outpost, fifty klicks from Visegrad. We're going to introduce ourselves to whoever took it out, then Kat's going to get it back online."

"Just get me under the hood, Commander." A woman's voice spoke over the radio.

"Sir, why would rebels want to cut off Reach from the rest of the colonies?" This time, a male's thick voice spoke.

The soldier peered over to his right, looking outside the trooper bay to another aircraft with three other armored soldiers. Noble Five, Two, and Four looked back from the opposite aircraft.

"You get a chance, maybe you can ask 'em, Jorge." Noble One stated.

Noble Six steadily allowed his mind to refocus back to the hum of the thrusters and propeller. Under his visor, he let his eyelids drift over his eyes. The darkness that welcomed him made his tensed muscles ease. Only the voices of his teammates pierced the steady beat of the craft.

"Commander, we just lost our signal with HQ." Noble Two alerted.

Noble One frowned under his helmet, "Backup channels?"

"Searching... Nada. Can't say what's jamming us."

Noble One nodded, "You heard her. Dead zone confirmed. Command will not be keeping us company this trip."

Noble Six shot his eyes open, taking his assault rifle and pulling back the Bolt handle. Satisfied with the inner chamber of the bolt, six let the bolt slide shut with a click. This garnered a soft chuckle from the green armored man in front of him.

"Settle down six, you'll get something to shoot." Noble Three teased.

Noble Six looked back to his gun, seeming more interested in checking the thermal clips than interacting with his squad.

As their ship touched down on of a grassy hill overlooking a wheat field, Noble One and Six filed out of the craft quickly followed by Five, Four and Two.

"Jun, I want your eye in the sky." Noble One directed.

Noble Three nodded and positioned himself on a side turret seat. As the ship ascended into the air, Noble Six watched longingly as the craft flew off.

"Six lets move out." Noble One motioned.

Noble Six quickly fell into formation as Noble team moved down the steep hill.

* * *

Everything was quiet when the squad had first landed on this planet. The mountain ridge they had landed on was, to the commander's surprise, devoid of life. Not even an insect could be found within the immediate area of their landing zone. Shepard cursed; those brief moments of peace should have been savored.

"You get a connection with the _Normandy_ yet?" Shepard asked.

Miranda, who was busy at an open computer console, did not look up to her commander as she spoke, " Commander, this console is heavily encrypted, and I'm no tech expert. I can't rush this."

Shepard silently groaned, letting her back lean against the small corridor wall. If only she had recruited her old friend Tali, the Quarian would have had no trouble hacking into the network.

In the room to her immediate right, a vivid blue mist swept into the open corridor. In the next room, large rectangular terminals ascended from the floor periodically. Blood and bullet holes marked the far off walls and floors of the room. The dead corpses of guards were scattered about the floors, evidence of the battle that took place an hour ago.

Shepard rubbed the back of her head, sighing. Reaching into one of the hidden side pockets, she pulled out the data pad she had requisitioned from a guard prior to entering the facility. Activation of the device made the holographic screen glow green while data transferred rapidly. After a minute the device's screen went white, a text box was replaced in the center of the screen.

The _'Password'_ was needed in operating the device, which Shepard felt no surprise in finding this out. Rather, she began hacking through the codes with her omni-tool. It took less than a minute for the commander to bypass the weak encryption on data pad, and when she had, she found herself sifting through uninteresting files. Shepard felt irritated at this unhelpful find and frowned. But, just when the commander was about close the data pad, a small map display of the surround area caught her attention.

"This could be useful." The commander said to herself as she downloaded data onto her omni-tool.

"Commander, I think you should have a look at this." Jacob called from the other room.

Turning, the commander walked into the mist filled room to where Jacob was typing at one of the open terminals. Looking over the man's shoulder, Shepard looked at what was on the screen.

"U.N.S.C." The Commander mouthed the letters that were displayed on the console.

The other nodded, "Yeah. I've been getting the same crested emblem on each file I enter. Commander…what if this isn't some pirating operation?"

Shepard never doubted the possibility of this, the facility they were in was something more advanced then what she had witnessed on Pragia. But even still…

"Jacob, even if that is true, we have a job to do." Shepard stated.

"Commander, we've got a link!" Miranda called from the other room.

Commander Shepard hurried from the mist-engulfed room to where the other woman was standing. Miranda lifted a small earpiece to the commander, who took it graciously.

"Again: I'm no tech expert. So the line won't be the best." The Cerberus operative clarified before exiting the room.

Shepard nodded, taking the earpiece and placing it in ear. After a moment of buzzing static, the commander heard a soft click on the other line.

"Joker, Come in."

"Uh Commander, We got a situation here!" The Normandy's pilot yelled.

* * *

In the few hours the _Normandy_ was adrift, everything was going as according to plan. All systems were working phenomenally and it seemed that the mission was going to go off with minimal problems. But Joker knew that a problem would arise, as operations never went as smoothly as possible in the helmsman's line of work. He just wasn't expecting anything of this magnitude.

As the pilot could plainly see, spanning across the void of space were ships approaching the _Normandy_. An entire fleet was circling the small ship; frigates, cruiser, even ship models he had never witnessed before, were closing in around the ship.

"Joker what's wrong?" Shepard's voice pieced through static.

"They sent an entire fleet after us commander!" Joker exclaimed.

"The pirates?" The commander's voice held as much shock as the pilot's.

"Yeah, stealth systems are engaged, but we've been adrift for a couple of hours. The _Normandy's_ has to vent, or we'll be cooked in our own hull!"

That seem like a better option compared to the damage the ships could cause. If the _Normandy_ did not find cover soon, the fleet would be able to find them easily; all they needed to do was look out a window.

"Joker, you and EDI have to get out of there! Have EDI maintain a connection with this frequency!"

Joker frowned, "We can't commander! EDI's already combating another AI in the system! We leave, we lose connection."

For all the time Joker had known the commander, he had grown to understand that she could work quite well under pressure. So when the commander responded, he was not surprised at how calm she was.

"Alright. Joker, get out of there. We'll try and-"

Static burst through the channel, and the _Normandy's_ pilot held an expression of shock as the terminal rang with static.

"All system's out! Running on emergency power!"

"We've been boarded!"

"Everyone in defensive positions!"

* * *

"Joker, come in! Joker!" the commander screamed into the earpiece.

The earpiece just relayed static in response. Shepard scowled as she threw the earpiece to the ground.

"Damn it!"

"Commander we should go, there is nothing we can do. We need to stick to the mission." Miranda chimed in.

Turning to face the now attentive squad, Shepard gritted her teeth.

"No. Miranda, see if you can get another signal through." Shepard ordered.

"But what about the data cache? We don't have time to contact the ship!" Miranda rebuked.

"It may already be too late for that! What we need now is to see if the our only way off this rock is intact!" Shepard retorted back.

"I agree with the commander on this one. If the _Normandy's_ out of commission, we have no way off this rock." Jacob agreed.

Miranda frowned, her thin brown eyebrows furrowed in frustration. Her blues eyes kept the gaze blue glow of her commander's recon hood. She only looked away as she moved toward the terminal behind the commander. She moved her hand over to the controls; only to pull it back quickly when a mass accelerated slug hit the consoles surface.

Instinctively, the three surprised soldiers whipped around. From across the room, a blue and gray armored figure stood. Its orange visor glowed from the bright glow of the upper corridor lights. Its body was leaning forward as his left foot was position on a railing for support. From the gun it was holding, a thin trail of smoke rose from the weapons muzzle.

Behind the figure were other heavily armor soldiers. Shepard questioned if they were even human because of their sheer size even from across the room.

The Commander would not allow the mysterious soldiers to get another shot; she moved along with Miranda and Jacob quickly out of the entrance way of corridor just as a barrage of bullets raced after them. Shepard and her squad pressed their backs against the wall of the corridor, sparks flying around them.

Facing to the room on her right, Shepard looked in astonishment at a large goliath with mismatch colored armor holding what appeared to be a turret. The look of surprise turned to pure horror as the commander watch the pylons of the torrents barrels spin in succession.

"Shit, move!" Shepard screamed as she ordered the squad down the hallway.

As the mass accelerated slugs began to spray down the hall, the command turned, withdrawing a grenade, and chucked the explosive at the gunners feet. With a carefully aimed shot from her assault rifle, the commander was able hit the grenade causing the end of corridor to be consumed in bright light.

* * *

Noble five stumbled to his right as the small explosive detonated. His kinetic barriers had taken most of the impact, but the blast still able to knocked him off balance. Falling forward, he was able to catch him with his free hand. After his vision refocused, the soldier lifted his head to see the blast doors at the end of the corridor begin to open.

"Commander, the rebels are opening the blast doors!" Noble five yelled over the radio.

"Don't let them escape!" Noble one ordered, "Kat stop that door from opening!"

Noble one heard footsteps approach him from behind. He turned to see Noble six as he sprinted passed him and propel himself from the railing over the gap below and land on the mist-covered floor of the room. The steel colored soldier then sprinted from behind Noble five and down the long corridor, firing his assault rifle at the three intruders.

As the man moved in closer, the leader of the rebels lifted her gun to smother the impact as Noble six rammed his shoulder into her with great force.

This action caused both the woman and Noble six to be thrown through the blast doors before they hissed shut.

* * *

Shepard fell to the metal floor hard, the armored monster pinning her shoulders down. With as much force as she could, she pushed the massive soldier off of her with her legs. This threw the soldiers back into the blast door with a loud thud. Shepard quickly got to her feet, aiming and firing gun at the menacing giant. The mass accelerated slugs lit the soldier's shields making them sputter and glow yellow. When the shields sputtered and finally disintegrated, Shepard dropped the empty thermal clip. The soldier fell to one knee, giving the commander enough time to run down the corridor as best she could.  
When she had reached the end of the hallway, Shepard quickly hacked through the blast door in front of her and sprinted out of the facility once the doors hissed, just as the pounding of footsteps behind her grew louder. 

* * *

Joker leaned against one of the terminals with a pistol clenched in his hands. Around him, the crew of the CIC deck aimed their guns ready to fight. No word was given from the lower decks, so that could only mean that their frontal defenses had been defeated. A cold sweat formed at the back of the pilot's neck. His arms tense with each passing second. It was only a matter of time before the boarders made it to the top deck. The screech of the _Normandy's_ speakers made him cringe.

"Mr. Moreau, I must advice you and the crew to put down your weapons." The ship's A.I. warned over the speakers.

Joker's eyes widened in surprise, "EDI? What do you mean? What's going on?"

"We've been wrong. The boarders are not our enemy. In order to avoid an armed conflict, you must put down your weapons now."

Joker flinched when he heard the elevator cart ascended to the top deck. He lifted his weapon, looking down the sights.

"Joker, please. If you and the crew engage in a fight, you will certainly die." The A.I. reasoned.

Joker was skeptical of this, "How do you know they won't just shoot us with our weapons down?" he question.

Just then, the elevator doors hissed open. Joker felt his blood run cold, as he saw the seven-foot tall armored giant stand in the entrance. The green armored soldier was poised and held the pilot in his sights, gun ready to fire.

But before the soldier to fire, the speakers broke through the tension. But the voice that carried threw was not the ship's AI.

"Hello, John."

* * *

**Author's note:**** Ominous Cliff Hangar of Doom!**

Well here it is. This actually has been making me ache to post this since Saturday. But I wanted this to wait until it was just right. I hope this makes up for the last chapter, it probably won't. On a side note, I'd like to thank all the reviews I've gotten. They encouraged me to post this chapter earlier than when it would have been. Which would have been awhile.

Chapter 5 will be up soon, I promise.

So please: leave a review of what you think and stay tuned for the next chapter.

Stay silky,

Bleachcookie


	5. Chapter 5: Wrath of the Lions

**Author's note:** So I left off with a major cliffhanger in the last chapter so here is the continuation of _By Sheer Volume_. I worked on this for a week, and now that I feel satisfied with the final product, I give you Chapter 5. A bit of a warning, this chapter is filled with action! (No, not that type of action. You scoundrel)

**Disclaimer**: Mass effect and the Halo franchise are property of Bioware and Bungie respectively.

Chapter 5

Escaping the Hornets

It had been hours since her previous engagement with the inhuman soldiers, and Shepard was now rushing through the forests thicket as best she could. The commander did not slow as the sounds of breaking branches made it clear that those monsters were still chasing her. While ducking under a protruding tree branch in her path, a shot reverberated throughout the forest. Shepard ducked as the branch above her head exploded into wooden splinters. She rushed behind a tree, lifting her rifle and blindly firing into the bushes. The mass accelerated slugs tore through the bushes behind her, making a light yellow glow show behind the torn leaves. A roar of sputtering gears made Shepard wince, stopping her fire immediately, and flinging her self to the ground.

In moments, the forest was flooded with the sound of machine gun fire. Mass accelerated slug after slug tore through the leaves, charred bark from trees rained down on the commander's hood.

But she remained rigid through out the ordeal; she had experiences like this before. Tangos would keep fire until their receiving fire stopped, and although the hail of bullets seemed infinite, she just had to bide her time.

When the hail of bullets relented; the loud sputtering from the gun lowered to a murmur. Shepard instinctively pushed herself from the earth, sprinting hard through the foliage and the chase continued.

"Joker, do you read me?" Shepard screamed through her earpiece.

Buzzing static greeted the commander's ear. She cursed under her breath, thoughts reviewing her few remaining options. She could try to regroup with her squad, but without anyway of knowing if they were able to get out of the relay station and no specified rally point, the option proved futile.

The commander jumped over a fallen tree, stumbling in her landing. She did not waver in her falter, and continued her sprint.

The possibility of running back to the relay station was also out of the question, seeing that there were, from what she was able to see from her previous encounter, three armored soldiers chasing her. The other two must be still at the relay station. She recollected the seen of her squads encounter with the armored beasts.

A grimace flicked over her face with the memory of being flung through the blast doors coming back to her. How could she be so unprepared, she should have had her guard up! She even let her squad be separated! She thought as she continued her sprint.

But she had to refocus on the situation at hand, pulling her side arm from her waist, the commander shot blindly behind her as she sprinted through a thick layer of bushes.

Commander Shepard had thought about dashing into the road to get a better shot at her pursuers, but the thought was quickly dispelled with a sniper round passing her head by mere inches. Screaming above the trees, propellers roared over the commander's head. Shepard looked to the sky and fired at the aircraft as it flew over the treetops. The sniper was the deterring variable in this plan. So, the best course of action at the moment was to run, something that she knew would not last forever.

A light orange glow consumed the commander's arm as she activated her omni-tool. Peering at the downloaded map she had acquired earlier, she noted the key surrounding features closest to her position. Her goggle covered eyes stared at one feature in particular. It was not the most absurd plan she had ever had, but it was still risky. But at the moment there seemed no other option. Making a sharp turn to her left, she deviated from her original course heading westward.

Noble five heaved the machine gun in his hands up as he smashed a log in his path. His large chest steadily rose and fell under his faded yellow chest plate. In front of him, a black armored soldier was swiftly sprinting from through the bushes with ease. Noble four was biding his time like the rest of them, waiting for the woman to brake. This, however, proved difficult, as the woman did not show signs of slowing.

"Got to hand it to her, little bitch isn't going down without a fight." Noble four chuckled, turning his skull-covered visor towards the turret wielding behemoth.

"Let's just try to catch her alive." Noble five replied.

Noble four just chuckled even more. Slowing in his tracks to take aim, he pointed his shotgun at the woman's fleeing figure and firing two rounds.

"You really think she's going to just give herself up?" Noble four questioned. He quickly covered lost ground as he watched the slugs hit a tree.

Noble five shook his head, "No. But with what her actions thus far, she knows she's got little to none in terms of escape. Besides, I don't think she holds much of a threat alive."

Noble four smirked under his helmet, "Big man, you're too sentimental."

The larger armored soldier did not answer as he charged along. Noble four just shrugged off being ignored and fired two more rounds. The slugs rushed passed their intended target and into the bark of a tree. He cursed as he rushed through some bushes.

"You know your one lousy shot." A voice teased over the radio.

A loud shot was fired from the air and missed the woman's head, just barely grazing her shields. The Falcon above the two Soldiers swept over their heads along with the teams sniper.

"Like your one to talk." Noble four quipped, "You couldn't even hit her."

As the falcon did a full U-turn, the sniper shot another round from the craft's trooper bay. A loud pained scream from the woman ahead of them made the two soldiers tense up.

"There, a wounding shot. Happy?" Noble three replied with a hint of humor in his voice.

Shepard winced as a slug ripped through the side of her abdomen. With one shot, the sniper was able to tear through her shield and armor. What type of ammunition were they using?

The little streak of blood that dripped through the newly made hole of her armor was all the indication she needed to know that the slug had hit flesh. Shepard breathed in hard, not allowing the new wound to stop her flight. She was almost at the forest's edge as the trees became less dense.

She smiled underneath her hood; the blue goggled eyes glowed even brighter. In the slightest chance the map was wrong, and her plan were to fail, Shepard knew she would most likely die or be captured. Nothing she hadn't experience before, she supposed, as the trees disappeared from around her and the unshielded sun glared in her eyes.

As her body fully emerged from the thick vegetation, her eyes widened in shock: standing in the clearing, rifle raised, stood one of the armored soldiers. His visor glowed in the light, and his angular mouth guard was lowered giving him a menacing scowl on his otherwise hidden face. Shepard recognized the steel colored armor, and knew this was the same soldier that separated her from her Squad. She scowled.

The larger of the two stood between the commander and a cliff over looking a steep fall into a large river below. The commander's window of escape, and all that stood in her way was the steel monster in front of her.

Shepard halted in her tracks and raised her Avenger rifle at the armored man.

"Stand down." The soldier warned, stepping forward.

But Shepard did not fallback, instead standing her ground. She gripped her gun tightly.

"I was about to ask the same of you!" She retorted.

The commander lowered her gaze through the rifle's sights. She could hear the sound of her other two pursuers from behind. She had to move quickly. Hearing the sound of her shield regenerating, the woman readied her finger on the trigger.

"Final chance. Move." Shepard growled through gritted teeth.

The stoic soldier did not waver, standing firm and absolute. When the man showed no signs of backing away, She braced herself and pressed down on the trigger. In the flash of the muzzle, Shepard watched as the monster charged forward. The soldier's shields reflect the slugs from her gun. When soldier finally got within close range, he pushed the butt of his gun into the woman's abdomen, hitting the woman's wound. Shepard breathed in sharply, feeling the sharp pain from her abdomen shoot to her spine.

The commander scuffled back, blocking a hard right hook to her face with her left arm. The armor around her wrist cracked with the force, which ultimately forced the command onto the ground. Her eyes fell out of focus for a moment when the back of her head connected with the earth. When her vision fell back into focus, she had only a second to roll to her left as a fist smashed the ground mere inches from her skull. Retaliating, she smashed her left elbow into the soldier's helmet.

"What?" The commander exclaimed in disbelief.

Instead of stumbling back from the blow, the soldier's head only snapped back to face the woman. With lightning speed, the soldier took the woman by her throat, dragging her back against the ground, and, with great strength, he threw the woman into a nearby tree.

The bark against the woman's back cracked from such a force, and the commander slumped to the ground, limp.

* * *

Noble five looked on in, to his own amazement, shock as the woman fought off his comrade. The swift reflexes of the woman were quite impressive to the massive man. Even Noble four, who would usually give a sarcastic comment, silently stood and watched the fight unfold. When the woman successfully blocked Noble six's punch, both of the soldiers stiffened in surprise. The force of one of the soldiers' blows would be enough to put a dent in a tank's armor. But this woman just blocked the punch with ease, albeit, not without getting knocked to the ground. What was even more surprising was the woman's ability to retaliate as quickly as she did, rolling away from a punch that would have shattered her face.

What type of enhancements has this woman been taking? Noble five thought as he witness the woman ram her elbow into Six's helmet.

When the woman was thrown half way across the clearing into a tree, the giant could hear the bark of the tree split. And with the action, the fight was over. Quickly moving towards six, who had his gun trained on the limp body, Noble five placed a hand on the man's shoulder.

"Easy six. It's over." Noble Five eased.

Noble six slowly lowered his gun, finger still placed over the trigger. He gazed over the hooded woman with anticipation.

"She did a number on you." Noble four teased, motioning towards the soldier's cracked visor.

"Didn't do much damage." Six replied.

Noble four chuckled, "Of course not." He looked towards the woman's limp body with an air of admiration, "Surprising how a little lady could pack such a punch."

Noble six peered one last time at the limp body, and turned away looking to the circling falcon.

"Rebel is down."

Noble three sighed, "You know I can hear everything right?"

Noble six was about to reply when he felt an over whelming pressure pressed against his back. The soldier was pressed to the ground with faceplate colliding with the earth. A booted heel connected with the soldier's head, using his skull as a steppingstone. Six, barley affected, shot up from the ground and tackled the fleeing woman. The rebel was struggling with surprising strength; six had to wrap his arms around the woman's abdomen, his bicep purposely pressing into the woman's open wound.

With a pained grunt, the woman began twisting and struggling viscously. Noble Six was forced to move with the rebel as the woman pushed him backwards. The soldier was startled when he felt the contact of the ground leave his feet with the woman wrapped in his arms.

* * *

Shepard felt weightless and, if not for the soldier's arms weaved around her waist, she would have suspected she had died again. Suspended in the emptiness of air was luxury compared to hitting the rocky exterior of the cliff. In fact, Shepard had expected to be beaten down before she could flung herself off the edge. But, by some form of holy intervention, she had successfully plunged herself into the clear. Though she had not planned on being ensnared in the soldier's arms.

Looking to the approaching river, Shepard grinned under her recon hood.

"Hope you like swimming!" Shepard yelled over her shoulder at her captor.

A winded cough emanated from the woman as the soldier squeezed her tighter. Though the Commander was more occupied with the water that drenched her face. Being unprepared for this sudden drenching, Shepard sucked in water as her body was totally submerged in a liquid casket.

The weight around the commander's sides quickly left her, and she realized that she had been set free. Without a moment's hesitation, Shepard whirled around. Only to be met with a booted foot to her face. Shepard was pushed back, water entering her lungs as she tried to breath.

The commander's back collided with the bottom of the river, allowing the commander a moment to collect herself. Above her, she saw a silhouette against the speckled light from the surface. The commander flinched as muffled thuds hit the sandy bottom of the river. Shepard struggled to guide herself from the hail of slugs. The stir of sand gave the Commander veil to hide under as she glided towards the riverbank. Shepard felt weak, slowly losing air.

Unclasping the weapons on her back, Shepard swam as fast as she could to the surface. Piecing the liquid barrier that separated from oxygen, Shepard quickly gulped down as much air as she could as she was swept down the river by the current. Shepard struggled to the riverbank, her breathing becoming more labored with each passing second. Reaching out toward a rock leaning out of an escarpment, Shepard struggled on to the rocky shore and collapsed onto the rocky shore. Shepard lay on her back, taking slow pained breaths. The soaked reconnaissance hood made it even harder to breath, so, with dwindling strength, she slipped off the hood from her drenched face. Feeling the sun's rays warm her cheeks, the commander squinted her dark eyes at the sun's glare.

Shepard tried to lift herself onto her elbows, struggling to look the side of her stomach where the large gash bled profusely. Failing, she let her arms relax, letting a twitch of her finger activate her omni-tool. The commander let out a hitched breath as she applied some medication gel to the wound. But this would only help with the pain; she would have to find medical attention. Taking a deep breath, the commander lifted herself of the rocks and staggered to her grunting made the commander lazily turn her head to her right. She watched a large Grey beast lift its head from the river and look at her. The massive curved tusks on the side of the beast's mouth made it look as though it was smiling at her. The weak woman smiled darkly at the large beast before creature moved forward towards the wounded Commander. Its blue eyes looking curiously over the smaller form, its large nostrils flared. The Commander backed away slowly as the much larger creature stood up fully and roared. But just when the Commander thought the beast was about to attack, a stream of bullets pounded the creatures left shoulder, and the creature bellowed in pain.

* * *

Noble six had made it from the water, and was located at the other side of the river when the large creature approached the rebel leader. He had fired his assault rifle at the beast to gain the creatures attention, but the beast seemed more interested in its original target. By then the rebel had began running away, which the creature had noticed and swatted the woman off her feet. The rebels limp body rolled across the shore for three feet before landing, her body lying still on the rocks.

The soldier turned on his radio, "Noble squad, I need-"

"I'm on it!" Noble three yelled as her lifted his sniper rifle.

From the trooper bay of the falcon, the sniper took a precise shot at the creature's skull. The slug entered the head and imbedded itself into the creature's brain cavity. Noble three gave out a whistle as the creature collapsed into a heap on the rocks, just as Noble six swam out onto the other side of the riverbank.

"Whiskey Alpha down." Noble three stated.

From their viewpoint from the cliff, Noble three and five nodded.

"Copy that, I'll radio the Commander." Noble five stated.

"Scans indicate the woman's barley breathing. Mind telling me why we just saved a dying rebel?" Noble three questioned six.

"Information." Came the cold detached response of the steel armored soldier, "ONI will want her in for interrogation."

Noble six moved to the limp body on the shore and froze. Looking down at the bloodied face, he recognized the woman from somewhere. Moving closer and kneeling over the body, he was baffled at the imprinted 'N7' the woman's chest. He had noticed the long red and white stripe on the woman's arm before, but he was more focused on taking the woman down. If this rebel was an N7, then that meant…

"Noble squad, we need a medic stat! Possible friendly down!"

"Whoa six what's-"

"This rebel… She's on our side!"

* * *

**Author's note: ** "More cliff hanger? Oh the humanity, when will it end?"

Okay well I probably should stop jerking you guys around. Though admittedly, I kind of enjoy leaving questions unanswered; gives me this sense of evil power.

But enough of my squabbling of world domination and the like! I'm sorry for leaving you all in air once again. But as this is mystery, it is a necessary evil. Everything, oh and I mean everything; will be explained in the next chapter!

So please leave your delicious flames in the reviews and I will see you next time.

Making you succumb to your anger,

Bleachedcookie


	6. Chapter 6: Revelations

**Author's note:** It is early in the morning, I need a warm cup of tea, and my soul is in bed while my body is typing away at a computer. Yeah, I hate mornings. But enough about my personal problems: here is the next chapter of _By Sheer Volume_. To be precise, this is the chapter where a lot questions are answered. Better now than never considering it's been too long. Forgive me; I am but a horrific writer. Perhaps I should get a Beta to read over these and get feedback. But then again, the challenge would kind of be taken out of this, and the challenge is where the funs at! So I just want to thank you guys for the reviews, they are really helping me. Especially a few of you whom I will name at the end of the chapter, but for now I leave you to Chapter six: Revelations (Shing Shing sparkle spakle).

**Disclaimer**: Mass effect and the Halo franchise are property of Bioware and Bungie respectively.

Chapter 6

Revelations

A man with brown eyes and light brown hair walked around a lone restrained figure. The captive sat, wrist and ankles secured tightly to a metal reclined chair; wearing nothing but a black under suit. Back poised, hand held behind his back, the man circled his prisoner. A callous glare was all her gave his captive as he circled the bloodied figure. The whole ordeal was analogous to a cat stalking a half dead mouse: never backing away, just watching the pitiful bloody mess suffers.

When his little mouse looked up at him, the man could see the ice-cold determination of the soldier's eyes. A cruel smirk spread across the man's face, his eyes lit up with a sadistic glow. The circle of light from the lone ceiling lamp was blocked from the captive, as the man leaned over his prisoner's face. The two held each other's gaze, one with determination, the other with malicious intentions. Though, the intense stare of veiled emotions was quickly shattered by the hiss of a nearby blast door. The man turned away from his captive and walked to the doors where four armed soldiers stood, one holding a glowing data pad. The man, with an arid expression, took the small device and nodded as the soldiers saluted. As the man reentered the pool of light around his captive, the newly arrived soldiers went to the four corners of the small room. Rifles aimed at the restrained prisoner's head.

It may have seemed unnecessary to have such security trained on one person, but measures needed to be taken. In any case, the woman had woken up during a surgical procedure to mend her broken ribs, subsequent stabbing a one of the surgeons with a scalpel in the process. So, at the moment, this was a necessary precaution.

"Colonel, everything is secured." A soldier announced, " You may begin with the interrogation."

The colonel redirected his attention to the woman and smiled. Opening the data pad in his hands, the officer read over the small devices contents aloud.

"'Rank: Commander. Class: Soldier. Joined the Alliance Navy at age eighteen, and has served on numerous tours for the past nine years. Rose through the ranks from a raw recruit to a hardened soldier. Even got selected and trained in the N7 special tasks forces at the age of twenty-four. Described as having a competitive drive to succeed, every mission has been completed in total success. On one particular assignment to note, teams of highly trained marines were sent to Akuze, where they were attacked by a pack of Thresher Maws. Most of the marines slaughtered. Only one of them was left alive.'"

The Colonel peered at the woman as he circled the chair she was in. When the woman showed no emotion to the story, He decided to continue.

"Who was this lucky individual, you may ask? Why, the same woman who was hand picked by the Citadel council as the first human Spectre. The same woman who had stopped the Citadel's destruction by an unknown Geth ship. The same woman who killed a rogue Spectre, one who was hell bent on humanities destruction."

The Colonel was in the full motion of this retelling. Saying each word with such passion, it would have put a priest's sermon to shame. But with his next words, his voice fell low into a whisper, the passion turning to something like a fading dream. The man leaned closer to the woman's face, speaking so low that only his captive could hear.

"The same woman who _died_ two years ago." The man concluded.

Leaning back, the Colonel observed the prisoner's blank face, "And you're telling me that this remarkable hero, is you?"

The woman smirked, "Commander Shepard: the one and only."

A cruel chuckle escaped the Colonel's lips, "Last time I checked Shepard died, and, if my memories serves me correctly, the dead don't come back to life."

"I got better." The woman retorted smugly.

The colonel's smirk faded into thin line and his face once again was stern and cold. The man circled around the woman, his pacing continued for a minute before situating himself in front of his prey.

"Now let's cut the shit, shall we? You and I both know that you are no Commander Shepard. Who are you and how did you get on the planet?" The colonel interrogated.

So this man did not know about the _Normandy_, the commander thought. Maybe the ship was still in orbit; all she needed to do was not to give anything away. Shepard remained clam, looking at the man with equal determination.

The colonel must have saw the slight change in the woman's expression, and as though anticipating her next move, he spoke before the woman could answer.

"We know you are working for Cerberus. Your teammates who were at the relay station were captured a few hours before we caught you. They're waiting in another room." The colonel let his amusement enter his voice, "If you don't want me to start interrogating them, you'll just have to answer my questions and we'll be on our way."

The commander maintained her placid expression, but her eyes glowed a soft hue. The glow was like the flames of a wildfire, the lashing fires only being held back by the woman's retinas. The colonel looked on in surprise, but this was soon covered by a smug grin.

"The surgeons had mentioned extensive modifications to your body. I wonder why the Illusive Man would want to enhance such a lowly dog like you."

"You know, the same question was going through my mind as well: 'why are these people sending such a disgraceful little shit to interrogate me?'" The Commander replied with a hint of humor.

This did not falter the man; in fact it amused him greatly to be presented with such a challenge. He would see how long this little bitch could bark before he broke her.

* * *

The green armored goliath circled his prisoners as one by one; they stepped out of the frigate into the _Stalingrad's _hanger. While the frigate emptied its crew into the cruisers hangar, the soldier looked over the many faces of the Cerberus crew whom were put in a kneeling position on the hangar floor with their hands behind their heads. It was a surprise to see a Turian and Salarian among the human crew; being Cerberus was a human extremists group this was an oddity. As strong as the armored soldier was, he had to give the two aliens some credit; when he and the boarding teams had made it into the ship, they were met with heavy resistance from the two aliens.

The Salarian had been hiding behind some power generators drawing their fire while the Turian was able to ambush them from the rear. If the marines had not had the soldier's help, they would have been slaughter.

As it was obvious that the two could not be trusted in the group with the others, they were put separately away from their crew. Six marines guarded them out of the thirty-six marines stationed around the hangar.

"Back the fuck off!"

A woman's scream from the ship made the green armored soldier look to see three marines being flung from the frigate's air lock. From what the soldier could see, a woman covered in tattoos where dark orange pants and a thin strap covering her breasts exited through the open airlock. With an outstretched hand, she sent a blue shock wave at a group of marines coming in to assist their comrades, making it clear that the woman was a biotic. But while the woman was occupied, two marines were able to get the enraged woman from behind, buying time for others to do the same. Looking back to the two aliens, the goliath noticed the Turian try to get up to assist the woman, but was pushed back to kneeling position by a stationed marine.

The sergeant, a black man with a thin mustache and bored expression, examined the two aliens.

He looked to the Turian, "Friend of yours?"

The Turian's mandibles flared and he glared at the soldier. On the right side of the alien's face, long engraved scars raked down from the alien's eye to his jaw with a large bandage covered the side of his pale neck and face. The over all effect looked frightening if not a little unsettling. The sergeant did not receive a reply, but a glared.

The Salarian answered in the others place, "Not friends; don't know each other on personal level. Prefer not to. Her personality is…volatile."

"You don't say." The sergeant said, watching the woman blast the soldiers from her back. He gave out a sigh, "Care to deal with that before someone gets hurt?" the sergeant called to the green armored figure behind him.

The soldier did not hesitate in running to the woman and tackling her to the ground. In response, the woman sent a biotic blast to the soldier's chest. The soldier stumbled back. Quickly regaining his composer, the soldier rammed into her; this time placing both of his large hands to the woman's arms, he successfully restrained the biotic whilst lifting her to her feet. Caught totally off guard, the woman struggled in the green giant's iron grip.

"Let me go you green piece of shit!" the woman yelled.

The soldier did not, and simple held the woman in place as she struggle against his grip. Turning the woman so that she was facing him, the soldier stood two full feet taller than the woman. Though, this did not stop the woman from kicking the soldier with her feet. The green armored soldier merely held the woman in place with little effort. When the soldier notices a marine with a syringe in his hand, the soldier shook his head.

"No, I can handle this."

"Too pussy to do anything? You gonna just hold me here all day?" The woman sneered.

The stoic soldier looked down, his golden visor meeting the woman's rage filled eyes, "I will let you go when you stop resisting. I am not going to harm you."

"Fuck you!" the woman replied adding a few more kicks to the soldier's armored shins.

"If you don't stop, we'll be forced to tranquilize you."

"I'd like to see you try!"

Cutting through the woman's taunt was the sound of the Cerberus frigate's speakers, "Jack, I would have to advise you to calm down before your actions harm the crew."

The woman called Jack scowled, "Fuck the crew!"

At this, another voice answer in a more warning tone, " I would hate to see how your commander would react to you harming the crew."

"Whose this mechanical bitch? What makes her think I give a fuck about Shepard!" The woman called back, though at the mention of her superior, she seemed to relax slightly.

The sergeant looked in surprise at the whole situation and looked back at the Salarian, "Is she talking about the same commander Shepard who I think she's talking about?"

"Depend on who you are talking about." The old Salarian answered.

"Listen tinker bell, don't make me…"

"Apologies. Did not mean to antagonize, only meant to inquire whether you were referring to commander Shepard. First human Spectre." The Salarian clarified in his fast way of speaking.

"Yeah that's the one."

The Salarian smiled, "Then yes. We are talking about the same commander Shepard."

The Sergeant furrowed his eyebrows, "But commander Shepard has been dead for two years."

"Perhaps A.I. can better explain the situation. Suggest speaking with the A.I. onboard the _Normandy_ for better understanding." The Salarian concluded.

The Sergeant gave a skeptical look to the alien, but only found genuine honesty in the Salarian's old tattered face. Deciding he was telling the truth, the sergeant walked passed the two captives and headed for the station frigate. Having been cleared of its crew, the sergeant entered the ship through the side airlock. Entering the ships combat center, the sergeant turned to his left where he traveled down the catwalk to the ship's cockpit. Upon arrival three armed marines and the ship's pilot greeted him. With a firm nod, the sergeant dismissed the soldiers, and they filed out of the CIC, leaving the pilot and himself.

"You this frigates pilot?" The sergeant inquired.

The pilot, who was leaning back against a wall near the controls, looked up. With dark brown eyes, light beard on his face and a young face; he looked to be in his twenties.

"Yeah." The man replied tucking his cap firmly around his head.

"Then you answer this question: where is you're A.I. buddy so I can talk to it?"

As soon as the question was asked, it was answered. On the ships control terminal, a holographic sphere blinked on.

"I am the _Normandy's_ Enhanced Defense Intelligence. The personnel of this vessel refer to me as EDI." The blimp greeted.

The Sergeant straightened, "Alright 'EDI', I believe you have a friend your of mine in your systems."

At this another hologram blinked onto the terminal opposite of the other A.I. This one taking on the appearance of a blue nude woman, with intricate lines covering her entire body. The avatar's virtual hair was cut at its shoulders, and its hands lay on her hips.

"Great. I knew I wasn't going crazy. _Two_ A.I.s. Just wonderful!" The pilot said sarcastically.

The sergeant ignored the pilot's remark, and instead focused his attention to the Artificial intelligence, "Cortana, it's been awhile."

"Too long." The A.I. replied, "You didn't have to imprison the entire crew."

The sergeant put his hands behind his back, "Action dictates protocol and all that. I just need to speak with you and the A.I. in private along with this jack ass."

"Hey!" the pilot exclaimed, but he was again ignored.

"Mind telling me how Commander Shepard is alive and why she's working with Cerberus?" the sergeant asked, looking to the bulbous avatar next to Cortana.

"Certainly."

The next few minutes where held in silence as the A.I. explained the events that lead them to this predicament. How, after being attacked by a collector ship, the original _Normandy_ was destroyed, causing the commander's death. How the commander was located by Cerberus and rebuilt over the following two years in the Lazarus project. The A.I. explained the investigation of Freedoms progress and how the commander 's objective was to collect allies for their mission to take down the collectors.

"And eventually the Reapers." EDI concluded.

The sergeant was silent for a while, lip forming a thin line across his face as he mulled over the information he was given. He could feel the anticipation of the other man in the cockpit like a heavy weight.

The sergeant sighed, "I don't know about this Reaper crap," the sergeant began.

The younger man next to him was about to protest but the sergeant continued.

"But if Cortana believes this. Then well, we better tell High Command about the Commander before she causes a mess down there."

"I have already sent a message to Dr. Halsey to patch up the loose ends." Cortana informed.

The sergeant made a curious look to the A.I., "What is the doctor going to do about this?"

"From the information I was given, Dr. Halsey seems to have the necessary authority to help the commander if she were in any danger." EDI said.

"And besides,"

The thud of the green armored giant's boots on the bridge made everyone turn to face him.

"If anyone can get your commander out of harms way, it's the doctor." The Goliath informed.

* * *

A hard punch to the commander's right temple made Shepard's head snap to the left. Thin cuts and scrapes marked the commander's face. As she turned back to face her interrogator, the commander felt he cheeks burn as though a hot knife was engraving itself into her skin. She knew her cybernetics were showing through the skin on her face, and seemed the colonel had notice the abnormality as well because he stopped with his assault. A much-appreciated break from the hours spent being beaten and questioned.

Loose strands of hair fell to the commander's face and over her forehead. The taste of blood over in her mouth was all that she could taste as she spit out a wad onto the cold metal floor. The cut on the side of her lip made her mouth feel soar.

The colonel sneered, "Would be a waste to kill you now, seeing as how you put noble team through so much trouble."

The cybernetics on the commander's face burned a menacing orange hue along with her eyes.

"'Trouble' isn't going to describe what I'm going to do to you when I get out of here." She growled.

Another punch to the face from a nearby guard made the commander grunt in pain.

"Shut the fuck up!"

"Now, now," the Colonel dismissed the guard, "this little act you've got is pretty convincing. Hell, you even tricked one of our Spartans that you were an Alliance marine. Unless you are like Kei Leng, I doubt you hold any affiliation with the N7; much less being Commander Shepard!"

For the past few hours, the Colonel had referred to these 'Spartans' multiple times. But every time the commander questioned who these soldiers were, a guard would beat her and tell her to be quiet. She assumed that the soldiers who had been pursuing her back at the communication outpost were from this group of soldiers. But by the looks of things, Shepard could tell she would not get the chance to question the man seeing as how he was loosing his patience. The increase in her beatings showed how she was wearing down on his nerves.

People under stress made mistakes, experience had taught her this. Though Shepard knew, with the possibility of a mistake would mean certain death with her. She would have to play her cards right.

"You were pretty convincing with your little threats. Your barks are as annoying as your pathetic bite." Shepard quipped.

The colonel's face reverted back to its austere expression. Quickly moving to one of the guards, the colonel snatched a guard's side arm and pointed it at the woman's head with the muzzled pressed between the woman's eyes.

Though his arid expression showed nothing that indicated such, his eyes showed the hidden frustration that had been bottled shut.

"I believe you are quite mistaken," the man popped a thermal clip from the pistol, "I do not make such idle threats. A Cerberus _dog_ like you shouldn't have gone barking up the wrong tree. "

"Then tell me, _Colonel_, what all sacred tree have I been barking up?" the woman retorted.

"Like I would-"

"O.N.I.'s tree." A strangers voice called from the doorway.

Spinning in surprise, the colonel looked to see the intruder face to face. Shepard leaned as best she could around the colonel's back. In the doorway of the room was an elderly woman with grey hair and ice blue eyes. The enigmatic figure did not look at the colonel, but instead locked eyes with the captive.

The woman smiled, "Office of Naval Intelligence of the Alliance navy. Doctor Catherine Elizabeth Halsey at your service, Commander Shepard."

* * *

**Author's note:** "Oh hey, look who it is!"

Bet you saw that coming. (See what I did there)

If you caught the many references I left within this story dial #343.

Anyway, a lot of things could be said about this chapter. Like the fact that it took me so long to post this mother! Oh whom am I kidding? I'm just kicking myself. I mean this baby has suffered two blackouts in mid writing already during the past week (No that is not racist). So cut me some slack.

In other news, I'd like to thank _eliteElite, Robo Reader 21 and Just a Crazy-Man_ for the awesome reviews they have given me. (Iz like youz. Iz like youz a lot)

_Robo Reader 21_: I hope this answers some questions.

_eliteElite_: I will get to that grammatical error…eventually.

_Just a Crazy-Man: _…you crazy.

As I end all my chapters with this phrase, I will do the same here:

I hope you enjoy reading this story, and review as you continue reading as more chapters come out.

Bed be calling this soulless body o mine,

Bleachedcookie


	7. Chapter 7: Truth and Reconciliation

**Disclaimer**: Mass effect and the Halo franchise are property of Bioware and Bungie respectively.

Chapter 7

Truth and Reconciliation

"Dr. Halsey, you do not have clearance to be here." The Colonel stated.

"To the contrary, Colonel. I have been given permission to be here." Dr. Halsey replied coolly.

"Under whose authority?" The colonel questioned.

He was answered by the pounding footsteps coming from the doorway. Behind the woman stood a large green armored figure. The soldier did not have to speak to gain everyone's full attention. Any argument the colonel would have made was silenced within seconds.

"High Command, colonel. If you have any qualms, state them to Admiral Parangosky." Halsey said calmly

The Colonel looked scornfully at the doctor, but the old woman paid no mind to colonels glare. Within only a few paces, the woman walked calmly to commander Shepard until she was standing in front of the bound soldier. One of the guards moved forward to ease the doctor away from the bound woman, but the doctor just raised her hand.

"There is no need for any concern." the doctor said, "After all, Commander Shepard is on our side."

The Colonel moved forward, "How do you know this is Shepard? For all we know this could be some type clone made by Cerberus."

"If you had read the medical reports thoroughly, colonel, you would have been aware of the authenticity of this woman's blood and tissue with being a confirmed match with other samples collected from the living Shepard years ago." Dr. Halsey explained, "Only cybernetic implants were found in the Commanders body. Aside from those minor abnormalities, it is safe to say that this is Commander Shepard."

The old doctor's ice blue eyes analyzed the commander's face, noting the many orange glowing scars marking the woman's cheeks and forehead. She moved a hand smoothly to the woman's bound wrists.

Shepard was wary of the strange woman's motives. She could tell that her eyes were glowing a menacing orange hue by the burning sensation in her retina. Her narrowed eyes watched as the doctor's hand moved over the clasps that bound her to the chair and unlatched them.

Rubbing her sore wrists, Shepard watched as the woman unbound her ankles. After the last latch was opened, she readied to pound. Now was her chance; bolting forward, the commander immediately rushed to the colonel and twisted his arm behind his back. Disarming the man in a swift downward movement, the commander took the weapon and held the gun to the man's temple.

Holding her captive in place the Commander hissed, "Who are you people?"

The four guards in the room moved closer but backed away when the commander pressed the gun closer to the colonel's head. She looked to the doctor, who did not look frightened in the slightest.

The Commander asked again, "Who are you damnit!"

"As I stated before: we are apart the Office of-"

"Do not fuck with me! Or has the fact that I have a gun to your friend's head not enough for you?" Shepard growled.

"You're making a big mistake, sweet heart. My men will-Gaah!" the colonel was cut off as the commander twisted his arm further.

"Shut up!" The commander barked. "You people don't look like Alliance military to me!"

Dr. Halsey raised her hands in assurance, "Commander, I understand you are under a lot of stress, and you are fatigued from this ordeal. But you must understand that we are all on the same side. If we were lying to you and meant you any harm, I assure you, we would have killed you when we had the chance."

The Commander did not relax, her grip tightening on the pistols trigger. Her retinas burned something fierce.

"On the same side? What shit are you trying to feed me!" Commander hissed back, "This "ONI" that you speak of does not sound of anything applying to the Alliance!"

The Colonel grimaced when he felt the soldier yank him backwards.

His brown eyes darted to the guards stationed near the doctor, "Don't just stand there! Commander Shepard or not, this woman is a threat!"

The guards lifted their rifles to the woman and her hostage. Shepard scowled, gritting her teeth in frustration. As the situation was becoming direr, the Commander's stress levels increased. The cybernetics underneath her skin seared hot flames to the point where it was becoming painful. A firm hand grasped the woman's shoulder, and her eyes widened in surprise. Looking over her shoulder, the commander face to face with the green armored soldier that had accompanied the doctor moments before.

"Commander I promise I will answers any questions you have, but right now is not the best time." The doctor said firmly.

This was no bargain, and Shepard knew it. When the large soldier behind her lifted its hand away from her shoulder, Shepard withdrew the muzzle of the pistol from the colonel's temple. Peering at the gun's design, she was not surprised to see that she could not recognize the guns model. Sighing, the commander relaxed as the glowing scars faded from her face. Once composed, she looked the doctor and nodded.

"I must warn you, I have a lot of questions. Doctor…"

"Dr. Halsey." The doctor stated, walking past the baffled Colonel.

Shepard nodded, holding out the pistol to the colonel who snatched the weapon from her hand.

"No hard feelings." The Commander said; her words laced with smug amusement.

Ushering the commander out the blast doors along with the other giant soldier, the doctor turned as she heard the colonel clear his throat.

"You can count that I will be taking this up with Section three on the matter." The man said in a threatening manner.

"Indeed." Dr. Halsey replied coolly, "Good day, Colonel Ackerson."

As the blast doors shut behind them, Shepard followed the doctor down a dim corridor with the large soldier following her behind her. The massive behemoth did not speak, and the sound of the soldier's pounding feet on the metal floor was the only indication that the soldier was there.

"You have made quite a commotion." Dr. Halsey said.

The commander turned her attention to the doctor, "I aim to please."

"I am sure." the doctor replied.

Reaching the end of the corridor into an intersection, the group made a turn and exited the corridors into an elevator. Shepard stood in the middle between the older woman and the large soldier. The doctor pressed a button on a side terminal and within seconds the doors to the elevator shut and the shaft hummed as they ascended to the upper floors.

Shepard smirked to herself; back when her old team was assembled, the squad would always complain about how the elevators were too slow.

Speaking of which…

"Where exactly is my squad?" the commander questioned turning to the doctor.

"They are unharmed, I have made sure of that." Dr. Halsey assured, "So has your crew."

The commander opened her eyes in shock, which only made the doctor politely smile.

"Come now commander, I have been well informed of your current situation with Cerberus." The doctor explained, "The _Normandy_ is currently being hauled down to the planet's surface. The _Normandy_, your crew is unharmed."

Shepard eyed the woman suspiciously, "For your sake, I hope you are telling the truth."

The slight deliberate shift of the soldier beside her made the commander aware of giant soldier even more. She needed only to glace slightly to see the soldier stare her down: an obvious warning. The Commander could take a hint.

"Your friend doesn't seem to talk much." The commander remarked, deciding to change the subject.

The Doctor nodded, "Linda tends to keep to herself as do all Spartans."

The soldier next to the commander gave a barely subtly uncomfortable fidget at the mention of her name. Shepard found it somewhat amusing how stoic giant such as this could become so uncomfortable at the mention of her own name. Though of these

"Spartans" still confused the commander. She decided to voice this to the doctor.

"Spartans are ONI's super soldiers, apart of the UNSC's special battle group." The doctor explained.

This only confused the commander even more, "What is the UNSC? I thought ONI was apart of the Alliance Navy?"

"It is." The doctor confirmed.

The hum of the elevator stopped, and the doors opened to a large oval office. It was very bland, to say the least. At the center of the room in front of them, a large 'U' shaped desk stood, littered with papers and a coffee mug situated near a monitor. Leading up a small railing less stairs upon the blue carpet floor, Shepard was relieved to see Jacob and Miranda, but among her squad were the same soldiers she had encountered at the relay station hours before. All excluding the steel colored one.

Shepard tensed, expecting to be tackled by the missing soldier. But, to her relief, no such action came.

When the Spartans noticed the group's presence, the leader, wearing blue and grey armor, spoke, "Doctor."

"Noble one, why do you have our guests cornered?" The doctor asked.

The Spartan remained stoic, "My apologies, doctor, but we have orders to keep these individuals contained, as per _Winter Contingency_."

"These people are with an alliance military officer, I would expect you to treat them with some respect." The doctor motioned towards Shepard, "Or would you like to explain to commander Shepard why you have her squad hand cuffed?"

Noble one was taken aback by the doctor's statement, and looked over to the woman standing behind the doctor. The soldier was wearing a black under suit, nothing that would really imply her to be a military officer. Though, with her face showing the arid expression, he could tell when he sensed an authority figure.

"Indeed." Shepard concurred, placing her hands behind her back.

Noble one was surprised at first, but found his bearings. Nodding to the rest of Noble team to release the two captives.

"My apologies commander, I did not realize it was you. News is that you died." Noble one apologized.

"I got better." The commander stated.

Freed from their bonds, Jacob and Miranda walked over to their commander.

"About time Shepard." Miranda said.

"Yeah, one more minute, and we were going to bust out of here ourselves." Jacob said sarcastically.

"I'm sorry, did you like being handcuffed?" the commander smirked, "Glad you two are alright."

Doctor Halsey turned to the Linda, "Please escort our guests out to the docking bay."

"I am afraid we cannot allow you to do that, doctor. As per _Winter Contingency_, this building is under lock down."

Dr. Halsey redirected her gaze to the Spartan, "_Winter Contingency_ has officially ended. Any orders you have been given prior to the cancellation of proceedings before hand are now void."

Noble one was skeptical, "Under whose authority?"

"HIGHCOM." The Doctor countered, "Now Linda, if you would so kindly escort the commander's squad out."

Miranda looked to the doctor in surprise, opening her mouth in protest. Shepard stopped her, however, putting a hand on the woman's shoulder.

"Everything will be alright, I will explain later." Shepard assured her.

"I will hold you to that." The woman stated before fallowing the Spartan out the door with Jacob.

When the elevator's doors closed behind her, Shepard looked the group before her. Looking to the blue armored Spartan in particular, the commander cleared her throat.

"I believe we were not formally introduced."

The soldier nodded and put his hands to his helmet along with the rest of Noble team. To Shepard's astonishment, the soldiers looked perfectly human. The leader of the group, with his tan skin, short brown hair and blue eyes, looked at the commander cordially.

"I am commander Carter, Noble one." The soldier motioned towards the others in the group, "this is Lt. Commander Kat and warrant officer Jun: Noble two and three. Warrant Officers Emile and Jorge: Noble Four and Five."

Shepard looked towards Emile in particular, who had not taken off his helmet with the rest of the team, "I remember you. You're the one who chased me along with Noble Five and Three."

Emile chuckled, "You gave us a run for our money."

Shepard nodded, "You almost took my head off too."

"Again: you gave us a run for our money."

Shepard looked to the largest of the Spartans, Noble five. Jorge straightened under the woman's gaze in his mismatched colored armor. He had a long scar over his right eye and sported a thick mustache and light beard. His outward appearance was intimidating, and Shepard knew that this man had seen his fair share of combat.

"Where is your other friend? The one wearing steel colored armor." Shepard inquired.

"Noble six has been called by Section three for debriefing. I am afraid he will not be participating in this meeting." Jorge answered stiffly.

Shepard looked to doctor Halsey, who had moved to her cluttered desk. Taking the lone coffee mug stationed near her computer console and putting it to her lips, the doctor furrowed her brow finding that her coffee had gone cold. Looking to the commander, she sighed.

"ONI consists of many sections. Section Zero, Section One, Section Two, and Section Three. Section three controls the UNSC Special Forces such as the Spartan programs."

Shepard raised an eyebrow, "What is the UNSC and how are they linked to the Alliance?"

The doctor took another sip of her coffee, "I am sure you know that the Systems Alliance was formed in 2151. Well, Many of Earth's nations wanted to have a second military body solely based on Earth and her colonies interests. So, later the same year, the United Nations Space Command is formed in 2152 as a branch of Systems Alliance. After the First Contact War in 2157, Earth's government decided to make the UNSC a separate military body used to fight only for Earth. The UNSC was made the official provider for protecting humanity; they are responsible for the armed intervention with terrorist organizations, Slavers, or any group that could concern the well being of humanity. It would be more accurate to say that the Systems Alliance is the public face of humanity, participating in galactic politics. While UNSC is the backbone that does what the Alliance cannot officially do. The organization's activities are kept from the public eye and usually push the boundaries of galactic law. So to avoid exploitation, the UNSC disguises its activities as those of pirates, mercenary bands, or; in more profitable situations, as Alliance activity."

"But would that not put the Alliance under scrutiny if the UNSC was ever found out?" Shepard inquired.

"Indeed it would. This fact has led the high Admirals of the Systems Alliance to consider the UNSC as a liability, arguing that the two should either merge together or it be terminated. But due to the sensitive nature of the UNSC's activities, neither is a viable option. So, to avoid any hostility towards one another, the Office of Naval Intelligence was established to keep a link between the Systems Alliance and the UNSC. Any information gathered by the UNSC is sent to the System Alliance and vice versa."

"So in this way, ONI is the Alliances liaison to the UNSC?" Shepard clarified.

"In lay mans terms: yes. But we also perform scientific research as well." Dr. Halsey concluded.

Shepard was starting to understand the situation now. Moving up the stairs to the desk, she leaned against the furniture, not once taking her eyes off the woman.

Shepard questioned the doctor further, "You mentioned the Spartan programs. Is there more than just one program? What are they exactly?"

"I am afraid I cannot provide you with such information." Doctor Halsey answered calmly.

Shepard would not push anymore on the subject; she had been given all the information she needed.

"So what do we do from here?" Shepard inquired.

"For now you are to stay on the planet. Our orders are clear: your affiliation with Cerberus cannot be over looked. You will remain on the planet until Command knows what to do with you." Carter said.

"And what planet am I on?"

"I cannot give you that information." Carter said.

Shepard gave out a sigh in irritation as her question was evaded.

"I will try to do all I can to get you off world, commander, but I have already pulled a lot of strings to keep you alive." Dr. Halsey explained, "I suspect High Command would want an audience with you."

Shepard nodded, "That's fine. Though I have one more question."

Looking back to the Spartans, Shepard asked, "Where is my crew?"

* * *

It was a major relief to see both Jacob and Miranda unharmed for the _Normandy's _crew. For most, excluding the bald convict, having the ships XO back was comforting. Though for Miranda, it was not good a pleasant sight to see the _Normandy_ searched. Within the wide docking bay, all of the ships crew was placed outside while marines search the _Normandy's_ inner bowels. All the Cerberus operative knew was that the marines had found most of the hidden cameras with in the ship.

Miranda gritted teeth, "I don't know why they are searching us. The equipment scrambled anyway."

Jacob tried consoling the woman, "It could be worse. From what the crew has told me, they have not uninstalled EDI's AI core."

"Not yet." Miranda growled as she saw a group of engineers enter the ship.

"At least there's something to enjoy from all this: the cheerleaders got her panties all in a bunch!"

Miranda turned to see the bald, tattooed covered, convict stroll towards them. Her thin eyebrows furrowed in anger, her pristine mouth turning to a scowl. Jack just gave a smug grin in return. Jacob backed away not wanting to get involved.

"I don't know why you're not upset. They are searching through the ship. Through you things." Miranda reasoned.

"If they look through my shit, let them!" Jack retorted, "I got nothing they'd want. Course I know the reason why'd you be afraid, though. Cerberus whore doesn't want them to find all her vibrators!"

"The only thing I have to worry about is them finding your drug stash," Miranda quipped.

Jack cackled, and Miranda was furious. But she would not allow herself to fall into Jack's petty taunts, so she kept her arms folded over her chest. Just when the convict was going to lash back with another taunt, the clicking of heavy boots greeted their ears.

The two women turned to see Shepard, wearing a foreign military uniform, glaring at them.

Miranda straightened herself and Jack rolled her eyes and walk off, leaving the two woman alone.

"Commander?" Miranda asked.

"Miranda, gather the team," Shepard began calmly, "We need to talk."

* * *

**Author's note:** First and foremost, I want to apologize for posting this chapter a week later than usual. I like to at least keep the flow of posts running smoothly, but not on a specific schedule as to not have everyone expecting a chapter on a specific date and it not happening. So I want to sincerely apologize to you all.

Secondly, I hope you enjoyed how I combined the two universes; and that I did not just evoke the wraith and hate of any halo and/or mass effect fans. But with this chapter came a risk and, hey, I took it.

If you have any questions, please post them in the reviews and maybe they will be answered in the next chapter, hopefully that will be soon.

Or you can send questions via PM, and I will answer them as best as I can.

May you find the Tru7h,

Bleachedcookie


	8. Chapter 8: Ending of Qualms, New Allies

**Disclaimer**: Mass effect and the Halo franchise are property of Bioware and Bungie respectively.

Chapter 8

Ending of Qualms, New Allies

The _Normandy_ was held docked in the large, dome like hangar, with its entrance hatch attached to a long catwalk that extended to the port. Funneling in and out of the vessel were large groups of marines. On the port stood the captured ships crew, standing in a large group surrounded by marines. Though being permitted to stand, the crew was kept in packed in the open.

But not all was bad, for their leader had arrived: a shining beckon hope in their eyes, their commander was currently in a circle with her squad. Perhaps, they hoped, formulating a means of escape. This was far from the truth however.

"That is the current situation right now." Shepard concluded.

The Turian's mandibles twitched open then shut, a sign that he wanted to speak but did not want to speak out of turn. The commander had noted this particular habit from the Turian, turning her attention to the alien.

"Have anything to say Garrus?" Shepard asked.

The Turian's mandibles stopped twitching, "Commander, with all due respect, how do you know these people are with the Alliance? It could all be a ruse to trick us into a false sense of security."

The Commander nodded, "True, but I have a feeling these people are who they say they are."

The Turian's mandibles twitched in annoyance, but he kept his mouth closed. He had participated in many battles with the Commander, even going so far as the fighting a sentient synthetic ship from initiating the destruction of all life in the galaxy. His trust in the Commander's decisions was guaranteed if not irrefutable. Relying solely on instinct had saved her and all of the galactic life; if the woman's instincts told her things were fine, then he would trust her. But this did not mean he liked the idea of being held prisoner.

Shepard looked back to the rest of the group consisting of a silent Miranda and an attentive Jacob. Jack was absent, as the Commander was not surprised by the woman's self-imposed isolation. Though, the Salarian, which Shepard had not noticed was absent, was missing.

"Where is professor Solus?" The Commander inquired.

"The Professor is inside the ship along with Joker commander." Jacob answered.

At least one of here own was in the _Normandy_, Shepard thought. She nodded in acknowledgement to the man, and Jacob stood at ease. The only person who had not spoken was the _Normandy's_ second in command. Shepard turned her attention to the other woman, who seemed more interested in keeping watch of marines stationed near at the ship's entrance hatch.

Miranda stayed silent for some time. Her expression was arid, her plush lips shut as she observed the marines march in and out of the ship. Her vigilant watch was not obscured by the sound of marines and the ship's crew. This was not to say she had not heard the Commander talk, for she heard every word that uttered from the Commander's mouth. She knew when the commander was finished, but she did not make a sound. Too many things had gone wrong; being captured was one of them.

"Miss Lawson?"

Miranda turned her attention back to her superior, "Commander."

"I'd like to hear your impute on our current situation." Shepard said.

"We're in a horrible disadvantage, commander." Miranda stated, "I agree with officer Vakarian: How do we know we can trust these people? And even if they are apart of the Alliance, they have just captured a Cerberus ship. What do you think they will do?"

Though she did not want to acknowledge it, Miranda was right. The chances of ONI informing the Alliance of her current affiliation with the terrorist organization were a problem. But the commander knew there was a way to avoid this problem, she would just need to remain calm.

"Hope I did not miss anything."

Shepard turned in surprise to see the professor, walking towards the group. Though what truly surprised her was not the Salarian, but the large armored figure behind him. The commander saw Garrus stand on edge out of the corner of her eye. Easing herself into a military stance, the commander put her hands behind her back.

"Professor, may I ask who your friend may be?"

The professor looked over his shoulder at the massive green giant, and turned back as though nothing was unusual about the soldier.

"This is Sierra-117. He is apart of a special task group the–"

"Spartan program, I know." The Commander interjected.

Shepard turned to examine the Spartan, who stared back. His golden visor watched as the Commander walked forward, holding out her hand in greeting to the large soldier. The action was surprising even for the super soldier, but he shook the woman's hand swiftly and firmly. The commander had not suspected the massive gloved hand to have a somewhat gentle grip.

"Commander Shepard," The woman introduced himself.

"Master chief Sierra-117, ma'am." The soldier greeted back.

When the Soldier let go of her hand, the commander relaxed a bit. Though the rest of her squad remained on edge, hands subconsciously going to their waists. There were no weapons there, however, their captors made sure of that, but it was a force of habit.

"So what does ONI have planned for us?" Shepard asked in an air of authority.

The Spartan stood rigid and saluted, "Ma'am, I have been ordered to escort you to the meeting."

It was squads turned to be taken aback. Miranda raised and eyebrow and looked to the Commander for an answer.

"What meeting?" Miranda asked puzzled.

Shepard turned to the brunette, "I am meeting with one of ONI's head Admirals to discuss our terms of surrender."

The woman's eyebrows furrowed, "Terms of surrender? But Commander we–"

"And our terms of a possible Allegiance." The commander finished.

Miranda was at a loss for words. Shepard was working with Cerberus and now with the Alliance? This would not bode well, and the X.O. knew that.

"But what about The Illusive Man?" The Cerberus operative countered.

"We will have to work around him." Shepard answered, "We need all the help we can get in fighting the Collectors."

Miranda agreed but what of the risks? After fighting the Collectors, what would the Commander do? Her rejoining the Alliance would leave Cerberus with one less asset. But the fight against the Collectors was first priority. Miranda would have to be submissive, for now.

"Agreed. But I am coming with you." The Woman stated.

Shepard nodded, "All of you, wait here until I get back."

The rest of the group nodded and the meeting ended. As her squad dispersed, the commander looked to the green giant, "lead the way."

* * *

"It is a security risk." The Colonel argued, "They could be Cerberus spies."

In a dark circular room, Colonel Ackerson stood next a stoic Doctor Halsey in its center, draped in light by the one light source from the rooms ceiling. He was pleading his case with a hologram; the transmitted image was a short aged woman, white hair pulled into a bun, with ice blue eyes. Her expression was cold, and her eyes were threatening with impatience.

"Cerberus does not know of our existence, even fewer in the Alliance, Colonel. So unless there was a severe information leak, one in which was never expressed to me, I highly doubt they are spies." The woman said cruelly.

Ackerson backed down, with doctor Halsey speaking next. The woman remained composed as the hologram looked with hidden detest at the doctor.

"There is still Commander Shepard. She is the one deciding variable." Halsey stated.

"A variable that is not here, _doctor_." The woman countered, her impatience growing.

The sound of the blast door behind them indicated the their guest arrival. Walking through the door stood the Commander along with Miranda and the Large Spartan. The Colonel subtly twitched, while the doctor nodded for the Commander to join into the conversation. As the Commander entered the large pool of light, the hologram looked the Commander over. Even under such scrutiny, the commander stayed calm.

"So this is the esteemed Commander Shepard, I presume." The hologram said.

"And you would be?" Shepard inquired in a monotone manner.

The Hologram walked closer to the Commander, "I am Admiral Parangosky, head of the Office of Naval Intelligence."

"My apologies, Admiral." The commander said apologetically.

Admiral Parangosky gave a subtle grin at having put the commander back in her place. Turning her attention to the Cerberus operative, the smile turned to a look of annoyance.

"I was only told that you would be attending this meeting, Commander." The Admiral motioned to Miranda.

"Miss Lawson is my second in command." Shepard explained.

The Admiral's expression was that of severe disapproval, "Miranda Lawson, correct?"

The question was directed at the brunette, who was surprise at hearing her name. Miranda looked like she had been struck, but she quickly recovered.

Reverting back to her business persona, she asked, "You know my name?"

"Yes," the admiral replied, "Our work deals with protecting outer human colonies and that means keeping a close eye on Cerberus activity. Terrorist organizations are given extra attention. Important individuals are put into record."

Shepard decided to defuse the situation before it got worse, giving the Cerberus operative a disapproving glance before the woman could say anything.

Doctor Halsey did not like the direction this meeting was heading; bringing the Cerberus operative to the meeting was not going to help their case.

Clearing her throat, the doctor spoke, "Admiral, about our case."

The Admiral looked at the doctor with a blank expression, "The terms of the Commander leaving Reach are being put into the serious question doctor. Her affiliation with Cerberus was condemning enough without bringing Miss Lawson."

The Commander was getting worried, things had gotten worse for their case. Being detained was not an option for her, the Collectors had to be stopped at all cost. Maybe there was a way to salvage the situation.

"But surely you know of the importance of our mission to stop the Collectors." The commander defended, "My cooperation with Cerberus is a means by which I plan to utilize in fighting them."

"We have read Cerberus' reports and quite frankly, we were unimpressed." Ackerson stated coolly.

The Admiral nodded, " Indeed. Cerberus intelligence is not a reliable source, it could have been altered in some way."

The commander gritted her teeth, did these people not see the problem? The reports clearly showed how the Collectors were a threat to Humanity as a whole, but these people allowed Cerberus' involvement to cloud their judgment.

Drawing a small breath, Shepard continued, "True, Cerberus has been involved in my activities, but it has been my decision to go after the Collectors: they are a threat to all of humanity."

"Seeing as your information is not reliable Commander, how do we know Cerberus is not responsible for the disappearing colonies out in the traverse? What is stopping us from imprisoning you for high treason?" The colonel questioned.

The commander had enough of this. She looked to the Colonel with her eyes aglow, "If you can't see the truth when it's clearly in front of you, or even attempt to fight what is really causing human colonies to disappear, then maybe I am not the one to be put into question of treason!"

Colonel Ackerson was taken aback, his eyes lit up with surprise. The Admiral, however, simple smiled a knowing smile at the commander's outburst. Stepping out of the pool of light and into the darkness, the hologram quickly evaporated into thin air.

"Your thoughts Admiral?" Admiral Parangosky's disembodied voice inquired to someone else.

"That's the real deal." A voice replied.

The tired gritty voice sounded all too familiar to the commander. Shepard's eyes grew wide in surprise.

"Admiral Hackett?" Shepard asked in astonishment.

"Commander Shepard, it's been too long." The man's voice sounded warm and cordial.

Shepard's eyes simmered and cooled as she eased herself to calm stated. But a thought still plagued her mind.

"But why the secrecy? Why didn't you greet me forthright." The Commander questioned.

"We wanted to know whether you were the real commander Shepard." Doctor Halsey explained, "There was still some doubt of your authenticity. You could have been a genetic clone."

"But I know your no copy Commander. Your attitude hasn't changed." Admiral Hackett concluded.

"So in light of this confirmation, you are able to leave the Planet." Admiral Parangosky clarified.

Shepard was relieved at having removed any doubt about her sincerity was one achievement. But there was still one matter that needed to be taken care of.

"Thank you Admiral, but there is still a matter of the Cerberus data that has stolen."

"Well, Commander we cannot just give you the data back," Colonel Ackerson replied, "But maybe we can work out a bargain."

The smugness in the colonel's voice made Shepard know she was not going to enjoy the next few minutes of this meeting.

* * *

Sitting on his cot, Noble six looked intently at his helmet, examining it from one side to the other. His golden visor, which had been cracked from his previous encounter with the unknown alliance soldier, had been replaced with a coal black visor. Though he was not angered by the change in its coloration, he was amazed at how the visor could have been damaged in such a confrontation. The soldier he had confronted was able to ram her elbow hard enough to cause direct damage to his armor, and bypass his shields.

Assuming it was the damage to the his shields when the woman fired upon was root cause of this incident, Noble six sighed, placing the helmet over his head. The color did not hinder his sight as it was purely cosmetic, but the processors needed connect with his neural implants in order function. While the connection was being established, the Spartan mused over the events prior to him retiring to his quarters.

Hours before, he had made a report directly to Colonel Ackerson of his confrontation with the Alliance soldier. The rest of Noble Team had been called elsewhere, so he was left alone to give his report in. After the debriefing, the Colonel had left him to go get his faceplate repaired.

The replacements did not take long, and so Noble six thought it best to return to Spartan III compound, where a room was made for him, seeing as he did not own an official living quarter. Looking around the room, Noble six was not surprised at what he saw.

The small metallic room he was held in had no windows; his cot was the only piece of furniture within the small quarters besides a toilet separated by a wall leading to a smaller bathroom.

When a green light flashed on his visor indicating the link with his suit and neural implants were made, the Spartan stood preparing to leave the room when the door to his room opened. Looking to the door, Noble six faced his superior as Carter stood in the doorway along with Kat.

"Come on lieutenant, we've been called for duty." Kat beckoned from behind the Commander.

Without a word, Noble six followed the two out the door and down the hall. As they walked, Noble six questioned what they were being called for.

"As it turns out the woman you had captured earlier today was Alliance military." Carter explained.

"So am I to make a formal apology?" Six asked.

"No," Kat replied, "We are going to be working for her."

* * *

Inside the _Normandy's_ cockpit, Shepard stood behind Joker, examining the second A.I. aboard her ship. Though under normal circumstances she would have been happy having an upgrade to her ship, these were far from normal circumstances. Joker was not happy about the new addition either, and looked at the commander pleadingly.

"No Joker, you cannot uninstall it." Shepard said.

Being denied, Joker slumped unhappily in his chair with a frown. On the terminal in front of him, the A.I. called Cortana examined her new interface. Her avatar walked over the controls, taking a periodic pause to look at a specific control on the console.

"Interesting."

"Yeah, yeah it's all interesting now could you please knock it off?" Joker said crossly.

The A.I. turned around to face the _Normandy's_ pilot, "Aren't we a little crabby today?"

On the Terminal on the left of the pilot EDI blipped on, "Mr. Moreau tends to exhibit this type of behavior when he has not experienced any sexual stimulation."

"Oh, is that so?" Cortana smirked smugly.

Joker's face became red, "What? No I–" but he was at a loss for words.

Shepard smiled, "Well at least it has some personality."

Walking down the catwalk to the ship's entrance hatch, the Commander walked out into the docking bay. The rest of the _Normandy's_ crew was safely inside leaving the commander the only one outside the ship. Looking down the port, the commander watched a large body of armored soldiers walk towards the docked ship. The commander straightened herself, placing her hands behind her back. When the group walked closer, the commander recognized the one steel colored individual among the other Spartans. Master chief, as she had come to know him as, was the first reach her.

"Master chief, please show the rest of Noble team inside." Shepard ordered smoothly, "I believe you have some knowledge of the ship."

The Spartan nodded, and lead the rest of the Spartans inside. Noble six was the last to enter, glancing over to the commander who gave him arid look. When all of the armored soldiers were inside, Shepard walked in after them.

"Go down the catwalk to the elevator, and go down a level." Shepard directed, "Miss Chambers will give you a psychiatric evaluation. This is mandatory of all new arrivals."

As the Spartans did as they were told, the _Normandy's_ pilot silently chuckled.

"And I thought I was kept on a leash." He muttered under his breath.

At this the commander gave the pilot an annoyed look making the pilot clamp his mouth shut. Walking down the catwalk and to the ships galaxy map, the commander put in the ships coordinates. As the Normandy undocked, the Commander felt the ship shutter. This was odd as the ship was almost silent when under Jokers maneuvering.

"Joker–"

"It's not my fault, we have some severe junk in the trunk." Joker defended.

The commander was wondering what the pilot meant until the ship was out of the Planet's orbit. Her eye lit up with shock as a dark sphere opened at the bow of the ship. The Mass expanded until the sphere took up the entire view from the front of the ship.

"Prepare for slip space jump." Cortana announced over the _Normandy's_ speakers.

Shepard clenched her hand against the guard railings of the pedestal behind the galaxy map. For the second time that day, the _Normandy_ was engulfed in darkness.

* * *

**Author's note: **

No. Just no. How could this misfortune happen to me? I was planning on having this posted by Sunday, but, seeing as the site had a major lapse and the login part of the site was acting up, I was unable to do so.

Damn you malfunctioning login! Damn you!

Well I hope you will accept my deepest apologies for my tardiness. I do not plan on having this happen again.

So I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and leave a review. You don't have to, but the options there. See you in the next chapter.

Banging her head against a desk,

Bleachedcookie


	9. Chapter 9: Examinations

******[SUPER IMPORTANT NOTICE OF DOOM: To those who have read up to this point as of 5-15-11, I have rewritten all of the Chapters preceding Chapter 9! I have Also made huge Edits to this chapter as well so please, read over the earlier chapters if you wish! A lot of changes have been made! Also as a huge announcement, I AM CURRENTLY SEARCHING FOR A BETA READER FOR THIS STORY! That's right, I am looking to hire! So if you would like to help in the creation of _By Sheer Volume_ and make it better, please message me with the title _"Get hired, Get fired"._ We will have a brief interview and, hey, maybe you'll get picked. So I bid you goodbye until the next chapter!]**

Disclaimer: Mass effect and the Halo franchise are property of Bioware and Bungie respectively. I lay no claim to the franchise, though I wish I did. (My heart is crying)

Chapter 9

Examinations

_"We will give you aid in fighting the Collectors, Commander." Admiral Parangosky said, "But in return for our help and the Cerberus data, you will work with us in secret. Cerberus must not be informed of our existence."_

_"Also," Colonel Ackerson spoke, "our Spartans will help you in your mission. But if we suspect that any Cerberus operatives outside your crew are informed of ONI or the UNSC's existence, they have been ordered to terminate you and your crew."_

_Shepard scowled, "I can assure you Colonel, I will not betray your trust."_

_"This is but a mere safety measure Commander, your loyalty is all that must be confirmed." Dr. Halsey explained, easing the Commander._

_Shepard was hesitant, but she gave a nod of confirmation. Though she was put in a rather unpleasant position, she needed all the help she could get against the Collectors, and if her allegiance with the Alliance were mended, the galaxy would have a better chance when the Reapers arrived. ONI was her liaison within the Alliance; she would have to be cautious in maintaining her current relations with the mysterious organization. _

_"Our final agreement is one that holds the utmost importance," Admiral Parangosky said, "and that is that you regularly give us reports on current missions along with keeping your updates with Cerberus."_

_Shepard was slightly amused with this demand seeing as how her second in command was in charge of logging reports. She could feel her executive officer's annoyance from her side, and she did not have to look at Miranda to know she was giving her a subtle look of annoyance. _

_"I agree to these terms." The Commander agreed._

_"Then we are in agreement." Admiral Hackett stated._

_"Indeed, this meeting is adjourned. Oh and Commander," Admiral Parangosky called before Shepard left the room, "You will find a few upgrades to your ship. Consider them a gift of our cooperation."_

This new upgrade to her ship was something the Commander had not expected. At first, the Commander had thought the Admiral was referring to the new A.I. to her ship, Cortana, but she was greatly mistaken. From what A.I. had told her, the Normandy had been outfitted with some type of new experimental technology. From what she had experienced before was a 'slipspace jump', which allowed the ship to travel in FTL and reach a destination faster than conventional space drives. She was also informed that key points were hidden bugs were placed around the ship, were terminated. Though this was greatly appreciated for the Commander, because she could at ease a bit knowing that The Illusive man could not watch or hear everything she did.

Thinking back on the events that transpired, Commander Shepard sighted with relief. An Alliance was indeed an invaluable step in her fight against the enigmatic Collectors. The current obstacle in her path was trying to convince the Citadel Council of the Reaper threat, and that would prove a bigger challenge.

The Commander silently groaned to herself as she recalled her last attempt from two years past. In discovering the rogue Spectre, Seran Arterius, from unleashing the Synthetic monstrosities known as the Reapers upon an unsuspecting galaxy, Shepard had tried to warned the Citadel of the rogue Spectre's plan. But, like every other shred of evidence she had provided, the Council had dismissed her claims.

The Commander's eyes began to burn with her irritation, and she let out a slow breath to release her bottled up tension.

"Commander, are you alright?" Dr. Chawkwas questioned with an expression of concern on her face.

The old doctor's voice brought the Commander back to her current situation in the _Normandy's_ med-bay. The cold air over the Commander's bare chest made her flinch. Dr. Chakwas, who had been examining the Commander's wound along the side of her abdomen, stopped in her examination to look at her superior's expression.

Shepard smiled and nodded at the older woman, signaling the other to continue. Out of all the people on the ship, the Commander felt that the doctor was one of the few people she could truly depend on. A trust forged two years ago with the pursuit of rogue Spectre, and the discovery of an ancient secret unearth from centuries past. All the while, the doctor did not question nor disobey any command she was given. And, as her old friend tended to the scared tissue on her side, Shepard felt her eyes simmer. This feeling of safety was a luxury she rarely was able to enjoy.

"You've certainly made some interesting friends, Commander." The doctor said, not lifting her eyes from the Commander's skin.

"'Friend' isn't the word I would use for them." The commander said, wincing as the doctor rubbed a particularly sensitive spot on her skin.

"I'm sure you wouldn't." Chawkwas smiled gently, "Though I can certainly say that it was most fortunate for you to have found such allies in the most strangest of places."

The Commander agreed with the doctor. Though the situation she was facing was more complicated given its severity, it was at least comforting to know that others knew of the Reaper threat. As the doctor finished examining the Commander's wound, she straightened; smiling cordially at the Commander and her gesture was returned genuinely.

"Well the wound was mended and healed nicely. The scared tissue isn't infected, so there's no need to be concerned." Dr. Chakwas stated, "Though there are some scars that do warrant my attention."

Lifting a hand, the older woman gently touched the Commander's cheek. Shepard did not push away the hand, but went rigid under the unexpected touch. The Doctor gently rubbed her fingers over the orange glowing scars that marked the Commander's cheeks. The action was gentle, soothing, making the Commander calm. The scars slowly simmered and dulled slightly.

"The cybernetics under your skin are becoming more visible," The doctor observed. "This means either the healing process is taking longer than predicted or has stopped prematurely."

"I'm sure it is nothing to worry about." Shepard said while the doctor turned her head from side to side as she examined her.

"Maybe," Dr. Chakwas withdrew her hands from the Commander's face, "But I would like to investigate into the matter further."

Shepard nodded, moving from sitting position on a medical table. The doctor watched silently while Shepard placed her uniform back on; sighing with relief as he bare skin was covered once more. After tucking her uniform back into order the Commander smiled and bid the doctor farewell, making her way toward the exit.

Stepping out of the medical bay, the commander walked calmly down the corridor towards the ship's mess hall. It was about time she properly introduced the new additions to her crew.

Rounding the corridor and entering the mess hall, Shepard was surprised to see the seven Spartans standing at attention from near the elevator in full gear. Around them, the _Normandy's_ crew watched in amazement and fear at the towering goliaths. The murmurs from the individual crewmembers quickly died as the Commander entered the room. Moving wordlessly to the elevator, the Commander lifted a hand to the soldiers in a silent 'at ease'. The soldiers did so, and they were quickly ushered into the elevator.

It took them three trips to get all of the Spartans down to the lower levels of the ship, all the while getting shocked and frightened stares from the crewmembers. Emile gave a periodic chuckle at the shocked expressions of the crew, but the rest of the group remained silent as the reached the hangar. Moving across from the elevator, the group moved across the room to a large pair of blast doors. Opening the doors revealed a large room with bunk beds attached to the walls. The room was eleven by ten feet making it considerably large. The room had once been used for storage, but after being renovated by certain benefactors it was made into a standard sleeping quarter.

"This is where you will be staying." Shepard announced.

Carter, who had been walking at the Commander's side during their tour through the ship, moved forward to examine the room. Nodding in approval, he motioned for the rest of the squad to enter. Filing into the room, Shepard became aware of the other female presence in the room.

"Noble two, was it? I hope this isn't too uncomfortable." The Commander said, feeling slightly odd leaving a single woman to bunk with a room full of men.

"Please Commander, call me Catherine. Or Kat would be sufficient." Noble two replied.

Shepard was surprised to see the Spartan reveal her name so casually. From her previous encounter with a Spartan, the Commander noted an uncomfortable feeling permeate from the Spartan named Linda when referred to by name. Catherine, she presumed, was more comfortable around others. Which the Commander was glad for, seeing as how the other had a robotic left arm, it was good to know the Spartan was not sensitive.

"It's the arm, isn't it? Don't worry it won't be a liability." Kat said dismissively, motioning to her robotic appendage.

The Commander's eyes widened, as she had not noticed that she was staring at the other's robotic appendage. Though the Spartan did not seem to care, taking off her helmet along with the rest of Noble team excluding Emile, Master Chief, and Noble six. Kat's face was tan with a thin scar running over her right eyebrow. Her hair was cut short, and her eyes were silvery blue, along with Carter's. The Commander noted the odd coloration, as Miranda had the same contrasting eye color. Shepard wondered whether the Spartans had been genetically modified in some way, but decided not to say anything about it.

"When you are done settling in, report to the medical bay for a physical examination. After which you are permitted to look through the ship further. " Shepard ordered, turning her back to the Spartans and leaving.

"Yes ma'am." Carter acknowledged as the blast doors to the room shut.

"She's certainly a pocket full of sunshine." Jun commented sarcastically.

Emile nodded, "Yeah, a real sweetheart."

Kat turned, ignoring her colleagues' comments and turned to the large green figure in the room.

"Well I guess you don't need to hear anymore from these simpletons I'm sure." She said.

The Master Chief gave subtle nod of the head. Carter, who had put his helmet down on a bunk, turned and held out a hand to the larger Spartan, "Sorry for the informalities, chief, I guess you'll be our additional Noble Seven."

"Glad to be here, sir." Master chief replied, shaking the Commander's hand.

As Carter introduced him to the rest of Noble team, Master Chief noticed a steal colored figure silently exit the room. Though the soldier found it odd, he decided against informing the rest of the team.

* * *

Noble six exited out of the elevator into the Engineering deck. The light hum of the drive core gently vibrated throughout the _Normandy's_ engineering deck. The Spartan moved from his place at the elevator's entrance and walked down the lonely corridor, his steel colored armor contrasting from the blue and silver colored walls. Nearing the entrance to another room, the Spartan could hear the sound of people talking over the hum of the Drive Core.

His curiosity piqued as he entered the engine room, making a mental note of getting his physical examination later; he wanted to investigate further. As he entered the Core room, the soldier became transfixed at what met his gaze. The large, pulsating sphere of the Tantalus drive core was enough to gain anyone's attention. But to him, glow and hum felt comforting, similar to that of the propellers and thrusters of a UH-144 Falcon.

"I don't know what they added to the drive core but whatever it is, it's making the Antiproton Thrusters give off more radiation in larger quantities." A woman's voice stated.

"It's not just the thrusters," a man replied, "The Fusion plant needs to constantly be maintained or it's going to over heat."

Kenneth and Gabriel were frantically typing away at their terminals, not noticing the other presence in the room. Six walked forward but stopped as he noticed a large metal box like contraption attached to the wall on their right. The devices outer layer consisted of thick layers of titanium-A grade plating, and it's exterior was layered with control consoles and warning lights.

"A Saddle-box." Noble six said aloud.

This made the two engineers jump in surprise at hearing the unexpected voice. Facing towards the Spartan, Kenneth and Gabriel look at the Spartan hesitating to respond. They had seen what a single Spartan could do, they were among the first of the first defenses to fall against the boarding party earlier that day. But surly this one meant no harm due to the obvious differences in circumstance. At least, that was what the two engineers tried to remind themselves.

"What?" Kenneth questioned hesitantly.

But Noble six, too absorbed on the large device, ignored the engineer and walked closer to the machine. Gabriel was hesitant in whether to say anything at first, but after seeing the large soldier crouched down and fiddle with the controls, she walked towards the Goliath cautiously.

"Hey, I don't think you should touch that." Gabriel warned, reaching a hand toward the Spartan's shoulder.

But Noble six quickly raised a hand to stop the engineer's advance, where it promptly withdrew back to its previous actions.

Feeling defeated, Gabriel watched helplessly as the Spartan continued to press buttons on the strange box. Suddenly, the large device hissed causing both engineers to flinch in alarm, but the hissing sound ended soon after. Standing up, Noble six turned back around and motioned toward the other two people in the room.

"Look at the scans." Six ordered in a monotone voice.

Gabriel and Kenneth both looked in astonishment but quickly did what they were told. Both of their eyes widened in surprise.

"Thrusters and Fusion plant are working at normal capacity." Gabriel announced.

Kenneth sighed with relief, turning his attention from his console and toward the Spartan, "Thanks for the help," He thank smiling," another minute and we—"

But the Spartan was nowhere to be found.

* * *

Commander Shepard was, if anything, a very patient woman. She knew that patience was her only option when facing opponents on the battlefield, and in the conference room. So when The Illusive Man took his time pacing around in his mystifyingly dark office in that she so despised, she knew how to keep her composure and wait for him to address her. Though her patience did not stop her anger from rising as the seconds piled on into minutes. Seeing his hologram stop, only to resume a second later was beyond irritating for the Commander.

After three minutes of silence, The Illusive man turned back at the Commander, "So tell me if I understood you correctly: After chasing the Pirates to the outer ridges of the Terminus systems, you were able to locate their base on an uncolonized world. But after entering the orbit of the planet, your ship had an unprecedented malfunction, thus dropping off of any Cerberus scans. From there, you were also able to infiltrate and capture the Cerberus data cache. You were also able to gather seven Alliance super soldiers being held as prisoners?"

"That is exactly what happened." Shepard confirmed, though her attention was more focused on her X.O.

Miranda had remained silent through the entire meeting, only giving a 'yes sir,' as confirmation that she was paying attention. This was unsettling to the Commander as it could mean that her X.O. was planning on telling The Illusive Man about ONI and the UNSC. Though there was no way to know for sure as her intentions remained hidden behind calm façade.

"The _Normandy_ will need to be repaired at Cerberus refit station to make sure there are no permanent damage to the systems." The Illusive man stated.

"That will be unnecessary, we have already seen to it that the _Normandy_ has not suffered any long lasting damage to its systems." Miranda replied, taking both Shepard and The Illusive Man by surprise.

"Well, if that is the case, then that only leaves me to question the new additions to your crew." The Illusive Man said.

"These soldiers are under my Command, though their allegiance is with the Alliance, they have agreed to help fight against the Collectors." Shepard answered in a monotone voice.

After a period of contemplation, The Illusive man spoke, "I trust your decision to add these individuals to your crew. Though they are not Cerberus materiel, they may prove to be a valuable asset to the mission." With another drag of his cigarette, The Illusive Man added, "I assume you are going to continue collecting more of the Dossiers?"

"If these soldiers decide to betray me in any way, I want to have a squad that can replace them." Shepard answered.

The Illusive Man nodded and with that, his hologram disappeared, cutting the transmission. Shepard prepared to leave the room, but was halted by Miranda's voice.

"These Spartans could be a liability." The X.O. said.

The Commander chuckled and turned to the other woman with a smirk on her face.

"You said that about Jack, and she still hasn't done anything." She said folding her arms.

Miranda frowned, "Jack, I admit, though with her shortcomings is a powerful Biotic. But these Spartans had the ability to wound you and take us down with hardly much effort."

Shepard grinned, "Jack's like a wild dog: give her a bone and she'll follow you. These Spartans are trained military, marines who have got a purpose." The commander walked forward, "But since you, Miss Lawson, have never been in the military, I will tell you the three things it takes to keep a soldier in line."

Miranda raised an eyebrow curiously while the commander walked to the wall near the blast doors and lean against it, a menacing orange glow flicking over her eyes.

"Charisma, respect, and dominance." The Commander smirked.

Miranda grinned back; "I'll remember to keep that in mind, Commander."

* * *

Dr. Chakwas looked over the large Soldier in front of her, examining the soldiers pulse and vital signs. In all honesty, the Doctor found it overwhelming to have six giant armored clad soldiers in the room. It had taken a few minutes to for the first Spartan to take off his armor, but once it was off, the Doctor was startled to see a the man's muscle mass. Jorge sat quietly, his torso fully exposed to the cold air in the med bay. But he was not affected as the doctor checked his blood pressure and heart rate. But the uncomfortable hidden tension that he sensed the woman felt made him feel awkward, and the feeling was mutual between all the Spartans in the small room. As the doctor readied syringe for blood work, Jorge decided to ease the tension.

"That's a pretty big needle, is that really necessary?" Jorge asked, feigning nervousness.

"Well your muscle mass is so thick, I have to get to the vein somehow." Dr. Chawkwas replied, giving a small smile.

Jorge extended his left arm to give the doctor access to his elbow where she wrapped a tourniquet around his bicep. As the doctor took a cotton swab from a surgical tray next to the syringe she had prepared earlier, dabbing the swab in rubbing alcohol and swabbing the skin over the vein.

"Carful doc, he may look like a big guy, but in truth he is as soft as a teddy bear." Jun playfully teased the other Spartan.

The doctor chuckled, "Don't worry, he just feel a little prick."

"Well the big man is pretty soft, so that still might be a little much." Emile mocked.

Jorge gave the other a look of annoyance, but Emile just chuckled sharpening his kukri on his right shoulder pauldron. Dr. Chawkwas just smiled silently as she pulled the full syringe from the Spartan's arm.

"Well maybe you can fare better than him because you're next." The doctor said with a smile.

The rest of noble team chuckled as Emile sighed putting his knife back in it's sheath. While he took off his shoulder pauldrons, the door to the med bay opened, and Noble six walked in silently.

Dr. Chawkwas gave a mock sigh of annoyance, "Just when I thought I had my hands full."

* * *

Master chief walked down the flight of stairs, noting the lights becoming redder in color with his descent. He had seen most of Engineering but he had yet to examine the lower bowels of the deck. With the rest of Noble team putting their equipment in the ship's armory, he thought it would take the time to learn more about the ship. Reaching the foot of the stairs, the Chief noticed a small form sitting on a cot opposite to the stairs. It was the woman, covered in tattoos and scars with shaven head. He recognized her from their encounter before. Though she looked harmless compared to the armored Spartan, he remained on his guard as he felt the woman's blue aura. By the woman's glare, the Spartan knew that he had entered the others domain.

"What the fuck do you want?" Jack growled.

The Master chief knew how volatile the woman could be when provoked. He knew that, to avoid conflict, he would need to leave. His presence had already put the other on guard as it were.

"I should go." The Spartan said, turning around to leave.

Jack gave a callous smirk, "Good choice, tin can."

Pausing for a moment and looking over his shoulder, the Chief held the other's stare through his faceplate before turning to leave. Ascending up the flight of stairs, he wondered why Commander Shepard would hold have such a dangerous woman on the ship.

After checking in with most of the crew, the Commander had decide to relax and sit in the battery room looking over the psychiatric reports of the seven new additions to the crew. As she had suspected, nothing unusual warranted her concern. Though, there was a note stating her yeoman's observation of how the Spartan's were '_disconnected, and show discomfort with interacting with non-military personnel.' _Though, this seemed to pertain more to the Master chief, Noble six and Emile. But even this information was not a complete shock, seeing as how the soldiers were very formal even when not within her presence.

"Commander?"

Shepard lifted her gaze from the data pad she had been holding to her Turian comrade.

"Yes Garrus?" She answered back.

Garrus' mandibles twitched as he searched for the right words. Failing in his attempt, the Turian sighed.

"Garrus, is something wrong?" Shepard pressed.

"No, no, it's just…How do I put this?" Stress overcoming him, the Turian looked at the floor.

"Why didn't you take me on the mission? I'm skilled at infiltration, why didn't you take me along." He said solemnly.

Shepard put the data pad to the crate beside her, folding her unoccupied hands. The light scars on her face dimmed, as she breathed slowly.

"Garrus the reason I didn't take you was simply because you were still recovering from your injuries back on Omega." She said calmly.

Garrus lifted his head in surprise, and stared at his superior, "But, Commander, I'm healed and ready to fight, just give the word."

The Commander smiled, "Well I'm glad you're ok, because you're going with the ground party to out next mission after a Krogan warlord."

* * *

**Authors Note:** I AM LATE! I give you my humblest apologies for being tardy. (At this point is doesn't seem so humble anymore) I'm so horrible I don't even have an excuse to give you for the reason I was late with this chapter!

But here it is: chapter 9!

So we delve a little deeper into noble team. And look, a new member!

How funny Master Chief's call sign is a reference within itself.

He is a paradox, an enigma known as the badass of the galaxy: he is the Chief!

Ok, I got ahead of myself.

What is to come for the Normandy and it's new Spartan crewmembers? Find out in the next chapter!

Assuming its on time.

No promises!

Obscure fortune cookie with crudely written sentence says:

_Fact: leaving reviews makes the author a happy camper. Also leads to less likely hood of getting anal cancer!_

Rock'n your socks,

Bleachcookie


	10. Chapter 10: The Warlord

**Disclaimer**: Mass effect and the Halo franchise are property of Bioware and Bungie respectively. I wouldn't be able to stand the constant hate letters and recon requests.

Chapter 10

The Warlord

It had been six hours before the _Normandy_ had made it to their destination, during which the Commander spent her time reading over the Dossier of her next recruit.

'_Dr. Okeer_

_- Millennia of combat and strategic experience_

_- Rumored familiarity with Collector technology_

_A brilliant and brutal krogan warlord who fought in the Krogan Rebellions, Dr. Okeer has become obsessed with saving the krogan people from the genophage and is believed to have contacted the Collectors in an attempt to gain technology to that end. He is currently in a Blue Suns camp on Korlus, though the nature of his relationship with the mercenary group is unknown.'_

Though the Krogan's credentials were impressive, a Krogan warlord was not exactly something she would have liked to have on the ship. But if she wanted to take down the Collectors, she would need to employ his help. There was also the information the Doctor could possess about Collector technology, which could prove valuable against the Collectors. With that said, the Commander was still suspicious of whether the doctor could be trusted.

"Commander, we are approaching Korlus. We will be entering orbit in two minutes." EDI informed over the speakers.

The Commander walked down the CIC to the elevator, promptly entering the cart. In the closed space, she took off her helmet and inspected it. The Kestrel Helmet was her replacement for her Recon hood, since her encounter with the Spartans a day ago it had sustained a considerable amount of damage. Since the goggles were broken and the chin guards were cracked, the hood was left in the care of Jacob along with the rest of her armor she had worn during the mission. As a replacement, she wore the full Kestrel Armor.

Descending to the ship's Hangar, the Commander put her helmet back on, and entered the room where her party had been awaiting her.

Exiting the elevator cart, she was greeted by Garrus and Master chief, who was standing ramrod and saluting. Garrus looked very annoyed by the Spartan's presence, but eased as the Commander neared.

"At ease," the Commander ordered the Spartan.

The Spartan let his raised arm fall back to his side, but he still stayed in his rigid stance. The Commander sighed; the Spartan's own discipline was beginning to annoy her. As the squad entered the stationed Kodiak shuttle, the Commander felt an uneasy tension come from her Turian squad member. She had perceived such discomfort from Garrus before, as he had been more wary of the Spartans even before they had gotten onboard the ship. Though Garrus had been more unsettled around the Master chief in particular. For this reason the Commander had considered taking someone else, but had decided to take the Master Chief instead.

It was not out of displeasure with her colleagues, but in a way to analyze the Spartans combat skills individually, without having to be on the receiving end of their rifles. Shepard could have taken any of the other Spartan, but she had her own reasons for taking the Master Chief. For one, she felt uneasy around Noble six and she wary in trusting him. Noble five's heavy fire support would be needed else where as was Noble four's close quarter skills. Noble three was not needed, as Garrus was already proficient with ranged weaponry.

Noble two and one seemed more like a commanding element; something she felt would conflict with her decisions. All of the Spartans would have their chance to prove themselves, but for now, the Master chief would be the first.

The Commander let her eyes refocus on her teammates in the dim light of the shuttle. The protruding butt of the gun the Spartan currently had latched onto his back made Shepard what type of gun the soldier had. It was odd how all of the Spartans used gun models the Commander had never seen before. Were they specifically made for the super soldiers?

"Commander Shepard we are within the planet's orbit." EDI announced over the _Normandy's_ speakers.

With that, the Shuttle began to descend out of the _Normandy's_ hangar.

* * *

The Kodiak shuttle dashed over the mounts of debris that the layered the planet's surface. From the reports the Commander had read about the planet, Korlus was a haven for mercenaries, and the planet was used as planetary scrap-yard at one point. As the shuttle swooped under a towering arc of scrap metal and made it's decent toward a clear platform, the Commander wandered why the Krogan doctor would want to be on filthy planet like this. A question that would be answered when she found him, she supposed.

The side door to the shuttle hissed, letting the cabin decompress before allowing the squad out. Immediately as the doors opened, the three soldiers ran for a shuttle for a pile of debris and ducked for cover.

"The dossier doesn't say if Okeer is on this planet by choice, assume hostiles." The Commander ordered as the shuttle flew off.

As the squad walked out from cover, a loud voice range over a set of loud speakers.

"There is only one measure to success: Kill or be killed!"

"Loudspeakers? Someone likes the sound of their voice." Garuss quipped.

"Lets stay focused, we're looking for a Krogan Warlord." Shepard said.

The group moved up and around a large mass of debris, sights scouring the area for movement. The Large Spartan covered the team's flank as they made their way passed scattered pieces of metal, the inner layer of a ship's hull protruded from the mounds of rubble. The entire area was deserted, something the Commander would have suspected if not for the loudspeakers the blared from over them.

"Being hired is only the beginning! You must earn your place in the mighty army we are building!"

Shepard silently groaned as the voices incessant ranting started to wear on her nerves. While ascending up a mound of scrap metal, the Commander spotted three figures of blue and white against the bland brown background of a pillar.

"Look sharp!" The Commander barked, but by then they had already been spotted.

A barrage of slugs peppered the ground and debris as the squad found cover behind the scattered rubble. Pulling out her pistol, the Commander could already hear her squad return the mercenaries' fire. Moving from cover, the Commander lifted her pistol and fired at one of the trooper. Three direct shots to the abdomen disposed of one of the men, his body falling as his comrades tried to find cover. The sound of a shot from a sniper rifle rung in the Commander's ears, and the sight of a pink mist from one of the soldier's skulls caught her attention.

As his comrade's body crumbled into a heap onto the ground. The last of the blue suns panicked, turning on his heels and running away. Shepard smirked, getting out of cover to pursue her fleeing target, but she was deprived of the chase as a slug hit the trooper's shoulder making him fall down.

"Tango down." The Master chief stated as they to move up.

The Commander was impressed: from their position at the bottom of the hill, a clear shot looked impossible to make, and the Spartan proved her wrong. Though, the look on Garuss's face looked more displeased than happy.

As the team moved to the top of the hill, Shepard notice the blood marks that went from the top of the incline, down to the other side. The trooper had to endure rolling down the incline before being stopped by a broken ship thruster, where he lay clutching his leg on the ground.

As they approached the wounded trooper, they could hear him mutter and curse to himself.

"Won't stop bleeding." The Trooper said through labored breaths, "I'm gonna, I'm gonna—son of a bitch!"

"The wounds aren't life threatening." The Spartan informed.

In truth, the trooper had only sprained his ankle and broke his nose on the way down the down the hill. Besides, the shot to his left shoulder, he was relatively fine.

"He doesn't need to know that." The Commander smirked.

Approaching the Blue sun, the man had struggled to his feet swearing to himself.

"I knew it wasn't berserkers. Not at range. You're Mercs. Or Alliance…" the Trooper growled, but groaned in pain, "I'm not…I'm not telling you anything."

It seemed he needed more incentive then three heavily armed soldiers to make him speak.

"I've got a nice application of medi-gel ready to go." Shepard showed her activated omni-tool for emphasis, "But if you'd rather I keep walking…"

The Trooper paused for a moment, contemplating whether to speak. But after analyzing the huge green goliath behind the Commander, who was watching his every move, he was quick to reconsider denying the woman.

"Son of a…I just, don't know anything. I just shoot the overflow from the labs. The old Krogan up there, he's been really cleaning house lately." The Trooper said, " Jedor hired him to make her an army, but the Krogan he creates are insane, so we use them for live ammo training. It's all crap; I don't get paid to goddamn bleed out!"

The Commander was going to ask another question, but before she could the trooper's radio was activated.

"Outpost Four? Jedor wants us to move. We need coordinates on that Krogan pack."

Shepard grabbed the trooper by the collar of her armor, making him stare directly into her helmets visor. Even through its black tint, the orange glow from her eyes showed the black.

"Well be a good little soldier, and give your friends some direction." The Commander said in a low, malicious voice.

"I…I don't have the info they want. You showed up before I could get my regular sightings." The Trooper replied.

"You can either give them the coordinates, or get shot. Your choice." The Commander said, putting a hand over her pistol.

The Trooper's eyes widened in shock, but the Commander got her message across.

"Patrol, uh, pack sightings east of station two? Yeah."

"Copy. East of two." The radio relayed before deactivating.

"Son of a bitch!" the Trooper exclaimed, "They'll run blind into Krogan."

"Not my problem." Shepard dismissed, "Now if you start limping now, you might find a shady spot before you bleed out."

Turning around, the Blue sun limped away, cursing under his breath.

"I'm pretty sure he had that coming." Garuss smirked.

"My thoughts exactly." The Commander concurred.

Motioning the squad to follow, the Commander motioned for the Squad to follow her. Moving from their position on the hill, the Commander spotted a shadow come behind a pile of debris. Stepping into full view, three Blue suns stepped out of cover.

"Intruders!" a Blue sun screamed.

Detaching her assault rifle from her back, the Commander began shooting back the mercenaries along with her squad. Suddenly, the Master Chief charged forward and tackled a Blue sun. Caught off guard, the other two mercenaries were left venerable to both the Turian and Shepard. As the two Blue Suns were ripped apart by hot slugs, the Master chief had smashed the trooper into a scrapped ship hull nearby; the sound of the crushing bone and bending metal could be heard from the Commander's position. The trooper, press against the wall and the Spartan's body, was crushed under the Spartan's weight.

As the Commander watched the Blue sun's lifeless body fall to the ground, she noticed Garuss position himself between herself and the Spartan. His body was tense, and he seemed uneasy as the Master Chief looked back at them.

But as the Spartan began walking towards them, he stopped suddenly in his tracks and withdrawing his sidearm. Perplexed, the Commander moved around the Turian to see what was wrong, but stopped when a slug hit the ground next to the Spartan's feet.

Turning, the Spartan raised his gun and fired off two rounds before bolting around the corner in front of the squad.

"Let's move!" Shepard order as she ran after him.

Rounding the corner of rubble, the Commander was met by a rain of slugs. Running forward, Shepard ducked low under debris as the slugs continued their onslaught. Lifting her head slightly from around cover, the Commander could see the Master chief two feet ahead of her. Further ahead of the squad was high ledge with Blue suns laying covering fire. Throwing himself into cover next to the Commander, Garuss crouched low to the ground.

"Commander?" Garuss questioned, looking at the Commander expectantly.

"Okay, the Master Chief is up ahead of us. I need you to lay down some covering fire so I can get to him." Shepard said.

Garuss nodded, "Understood, I've got your back."

The Commander nodded, inching her way to the corner of debris. Garuss, waited for a moment, his sniper rifle in hand. The Commander lifted her hand into a fist, giving the signal that she was ready. The clenched fingers in the Commander's hands spread out showing an open palm. In one smooth motion, Garuss got out of cover and began laying suppressive fire with controlled shots. As soon as he did so, all of the Enemies fire was directed at him. Now was the Commanders chance; running out of cover, the Commander sprinted toward the Spartan's position. A Blue sun had noticed the Commander's movement and had taken aim, but he was soon met with a slug round through his skull.

Sliding into cover, the Commander repositioned herself into a crouch next to the Spartan.

The Spartan was barley covered by the debris he was behind, and his shields would periodically flare as slugs grazed his armor. Facing the Commander, the Spartan did not utter a word, but the Commander knew he acknowledged her presence. He was waiting for orders.

"Master chief, Lay down some suppressive fire on the two mercs on the left." Shepard ordered.

"Yes Ma'am." The Spartan acknowledged.

Standing up, the Spartan took aim, and began firing at the Blue suns on the ledge. Shepard soon followed, firing her assault rifle at the Blue suns to the right. Under the controlled fire, the Troopers quickly ducked behind cover. The Commander grinned, even though they had the strategic vantage point on the ledge, the mercenaries were too disorganized; wasting ammunition while the squad was behind cover. With her squad, they controlled their rate of fire, and only fired when the enemy looked out of cover, or returned fire. This repeated action had killed many of the mercenaries who were not quick enough to get back into cover. The vast difference in skill gave the squad an advantage.

The firefight was short, and soon the Squad was moving again. The Commander led her squad down a ramp to their right and onto to ground level.

The path in front of them was very narrow path with bits of cover spread out at key locations. Though there were no signs of life, a large armored body lay in a heap on the ground. Kneeling down to examine the corpse further, the Commander recognized the Krogan physiology.

"We must be on the right path," Shepard said calmly, "That Blue sun said that Okeer was sending deranged Krogan out of his labs. So the more Krogan bodies, the closer we are to the labs."

By the fresh blood marks on the Krogan's armor, it was clear it had died recently. The Commander looked around the path, and then up where a catwalk overlooked the ground. A slight coloration of blue set off the Commander's instincts. Withdrawing her pistol, She first to precise shots at the thin barriers covering the railing.

"Gah!" A voice screamed.

Now alerted, the Spartan fired at the Catwalk. In moments two loud thuds sounded from the catwalk. Through the paneling, droplets of blood seeped through the cracks. The Commander gave an approving nod while Garuss scowled.

"Move up." The Commander ordered.

Hours later, after many close encounter with Blue suns, it had become clear that they were getting closer to Okeer's labs; Krogan bodies and Blue suns became more abundant, and the sight of higher-ranking Blue suns was a clear indication of how close they were, if anything. But the Commander still had one thought plaguing her mind, with as many Krogan bodies as there were, the squad had yet to encounter a living one.

Shots from around a large pile of debris pulled the Commander out of her shots. Shepard quickly popped a heat sink from her assault rifle, preparing herself with another battle. Leading her squad forward, the Commander moved behind the debris into a clearing. But what greeted her sight was not something that she had been expecting. A lone figure stood out of cover, shoulders jerking from the recoil of his shotgun, never flinching from the slugs that rained down around him. A large Krogan in crimson armor fired slug after slug at six Blue suns on a ledge over looking the courtyard. Shepard quickly motioned her squad to take cover, unnoticed by the Blue suns up on the ridge.

Motioning towards her Turian teammate, Shepard gave the signal. In moments, the Blue suns were pressed into cover as slugs flew over their heads.

Combined with the Krogan's shotgun fire, the mercenaries' numbers quickly diminished. Shot in the head, the Last Blue sun fell from the ledge and onto the ground. With the mercenaries dead the Squad moved toward the Krogan cautiously. But the Krogan did not move, its head still looking at the ledge as if expecting more mercenaries to come. The Squad was but a foot away when the Krogan turned with its shotgun returned to his back. The Commander understood the gesture, and holstered her assault rifle.

As the Krogan neared them, the Commander signaled for the squad to lower their weapons. Even if this Krogan was deranged in any way, it was pacified now. She did not want anything to cause it to become violent again.

Sniffing about the Commander, the Krogan spoke, "You…are different. You…you don't smell like this world." The Krogan backed away, "Seven night cycles, and I have felt only the need to kill. But you…something makes me speak."

"Night cycles? Seven days!" Garuss said in surprised.

"He must know something about this, if he survived this long." Shepard reasoned.

"Survive. Yes, I must survive, but not here. Not against these fleshy shapes. I must survive against the enemy that threatens all my kind." The Krogan said, "But I failed, even before I left glass mother. That is what the voice in the water said. That is why I wait here."

"Do you know where the laboratories are? I need to speak to Okeer." Shepard asked.

The lifted his head suddenly, as if hearing the others name struck something within him.

He nodded, "The…glass mother. She is up, past the broken parts. Passed many of you fleshy things. I will show you."

The Krogan moved towards a large metal covering on a far wall, bullet holes covered its exterior. Loosening his muscles, the Krogan gripped the metal and pulled back. Slowly, the Krogan lifted the covering up and threw it out of the way, showing a hidden entrance behind it.

"Glad he's friendly." Garuss commented as they approached the entrance.

"You fleshy things are slow when big things are in your way." The Krogan reasoned.

"Why don't you come with us, help us get to the labs?" Shepard asked.

The Krogan shook his head, "I cannot."

This confused the Master chief, " So you don't want to fight?"

"I will fight if they come, but I feel it deep that I must wait. I kill, but only here."

The Krogan turned away from the group and walked back to where he was standing during the fight the had happened only moments prior.

"I am not perfect, but I have purpose. I will wait until called. Released."

As the squad walked through the newly made entrance, the Spartan took a final glance at the Krogan. He found it curious how a creature would subject itself to such a limited capacity. To kill, but only to await death or release seemed like a meaningless existence.

The Master chief turned back to follow the rest of his squad, leaving the Krogan to await his fate.

* * *

**Author's note: **It has been awhile since I've posted a chapter but I think this makes up for it. Between performing in a musical competition in my string ensemble, to winning first place excellent: it feels good to start writing again. Strangely enough, having a writer's block also encouraged me to get through it.

Anyway, I think this chapter is not one of my best works, feels a little rushed in some areas. But oh well, nothing that really is striking at me as odd at the moment.

Speaking of which:

There are two major announcements that warrant your attention, dear readers, and that is that there was a huge rewrite of the previous chapters. So, for those who have yet to see the rewrites, please, go check them out.  
Secondly, and this is a whopper,** I AM CURRENTLY SEARCHING FOR A BETA READER FOR THIS STORY!**

That's right, I am looking to hire! So if you would like to help in the creation of _By Sheer Volume_ and make it better, please message me with the title _"Get hired, Get fired"._ We will have a brief interview and, hey, maybe you'll get picked.

And for those wondering; no, you do not need to reach the set requirements to be a beta reader. That is why I am having an interview. (Though they could really help).

I hope you liked this chapter, and continue reading as more chapters are posted.

Where monetary units are not accepted, reviews are highly appreciated.

Nyan Nyan,

Bleachedcookie


	11. Chapter 11: Peculiar Weapons

**Disclaimer**: Mass effect and the Halo franchise are property of Bioware and Bungie respectively. I no see no plagiarism, I say no plagiarism, I hear no plagiarism.

Chapter 11

Peculiar Weapons

The _Normandy_'s armor was no place for casual conversation, and Jacob preferred it that way. Any other part of the ship held too many people, even with a smaller crew of a usual military vessel; and in a place stocked with weaponry and armor, the armory was not the ideal place for any type of social gathering. So the Gunnery Chief was used to modifying and checking the equipment and munitions. But the day had certainly not gone as planned.

On the other side of the room, sitting on an ammunition crate, sat a heavily armored soldier with a skull carved into the visor of his helmet. The Spartan had entered the room hours after the Commander had deployed onto Korlus, so the unexpected intrusion had made Jacob weary of the other's motives. But the Spartan paid no attention to him, instead taking a seat on a crate, unsheathing his knife, and sharpening it on his right shoulder piece. As it were, Jacob had kept a close on the other soldier but he did not make an attempted with a word to the Spartan.

A good two hours had passed, with neither man talking to the other. Finally, as the rhythmic scratch of the Spartan's knife slowed, one of them spoke.

"Your Commander is one tough mother." The Spartan said casually, inspecting the blade of his knife.

This had surprised Jacob, who had been accustomed to the silence that had befallen the room. But Jacob would not allow the other to know of this.

"You have no idea." Jacob said looking over his shoulder, "So your Emile right."

To this the Spartan gave a gruff 'yeah' in response. Inspecting the knife's blade, he let a gloved finger press gently against the tip and slice down the blade's edge. In truth, Emile had wanted to inspect the lower decks of the ship. But there was still a matter of settling the rest of Noble Team's gear. Getting to his feet, he placed the knife back into its sheath.

Jacob watched curiously as the Spartan lifted the crate he was sitting on moments before. Along with the rest of the storage crates in the room, the crate was fitted with this steel casing; along its side were the letters U.N.S.C.

When the crate was first loaded into the armory, Jacob had been told not to open the crate by the AI Cortana, so Jacob had left the package alone expecting one of the Spartans to handle it. Seeing Emile lift the package up onto the worktable, Jacob's curiosity had gotten the better of him.

Turning around from his work, Jacob watched the Spartan withdraw what appeared to be a shotgun. But the weapons design differed from most models he had seen before. The gun's body was lengthier, and the stock of the gun was folded over the receiver (1). The over all appearance was similar to weaponry used during the last century.

He smiled, "Your weaponry looks a century out of date." Jacob lifted a M-27 Scimitar to prove his point.

Emile chuckled back, unfolding the stock from the shotgun to show its full length, "Looks can be deceiving."

"Looks won't make up for firepower." Jacob countered.

Emile only seemed to be more amused, "It didn't stop us from cleaning your clock last time."

At that point, Jacob's teasing demeanor had diminished. Emile chuckled; having won the little battle, and simply went back to taking out the other weaponry from inside the crate. As he went back to his workstation, Jacob occupied his thoughts of how the Commander was doing.

* * *

The squad had met heavy resistance from the Blue suns as they ascended to the upper platforms. But the Commander and her team had been able to push to upper platform non-the less. Though, the increase of Krogan that obstructed their path had weighed heavily on the Commander's tolerance. The hot searing heat on her cheeks made the Commander aware of her implants, this did not help her already patient disposition was slowly being nibbled away. This change in mood had not gone unnoticed by her squad, who made sure to stay alert for orders.

Reaching the top of the stairs and the round the corner, the group stopped at a set of blast doors that went to the next area. Popping the heat sinks to their guns, the Commander gave a firm nod for the squad to be prepared. Opening the blast doors, the Squad was met with four Blue suns already in positioned in key covering positions overlooking the blast door at the top of an incline. Shepard gritted her teeth, taking aim down the sights of her assault rifle. Staying with in the doorway, the Commander threw a grenade between to between the two mercenaries positioned in the front. The blast knocked on of the mercenaries off balance, making him stumble and fall off the Platform, and falling to the rubble covered ground. Garrus quickly dispatched the blue that was still standing, sending a concussion shot to the chest, which blasted the Blue sun's ragged body backwards.

Running down the narrow catwalk, the commander noticed two Blue suns still hiding behind cover. When one peeked around the corner, a sniper round quickly erupted through his head. The other mercenary was caught off guard, and did not notice a large shadow loom over him.

* * *

As the Commander watch the mercenaries body smash into the blast door leading to the next room. As the man quickly whipped his head in retaliation, the Commander just as quickly stuck the muzzle of her pistol to the Sun's head. The doors were no sooner splashed with blood, and the mercenary's body slumped to the floor. The Master chief watched the Commander's actions like a scientist observing an experiment. He had been analyzing the woman since they had landed on the planet. Every move, every action, was calculated. It was not that Shepard could not show leniency, as she had proved to show mercy when with the wounded Blue sun. But her actions seemed only dictated by if a person could provide her with what she needed. As it were, the Master chief had witnessed enough to understand why the Commander had earned her respect from her colleagues with her tactical maneuvers on the battlefield.

The Spartan had been left with the interpretation that the Commander was a sadist after reading the Commander's files, as she had always killed her targets leaving any opposition to dead. But the mercy he had witness with the trooper had proven the Spartan wrong. Nonetheless, he was intrigued.

Moving into the room with their weapons raised, the Squad found the room deserted. The Commander motioned for the squad to aim their sights on the door as she pulled out her Omni-tool to hack it a computer console on a lone desk. Looking over to his right, the Master chief noticed a Krogan body laid on an operating table. The Spartan had come accustomed to the dead Krogan along their way to the labs, but what he found strange was that the Krogan did not have bullet holes in him, but incision along the side of his body. This had not gone unnoticed by the Turian beside him.

"They were doing experiments on the Krogan?" Garrus said in astonishment.

"I thought the doctor wanted to strengthen his race." The Master chief commented.

The Commander only looked at the Krogan body for a moment, her eyes seemed to only analyze the scratch marks the corpse's side. Aside from acknowledging that the body was there, the Commander did not show any emotion at the body.

"Something the Doctor will have to explain to us when we find him." The Commander dismissed.

Suddenly, the doors to the next room opened, making the soldiers lift up their weapons in anticipation. But to their surprise, a barrage of gunfire did not come blazing through the door. Instead only a deep voice flowed through the door like the breath of a beast rattling its throat.

"Here you are! I've been watching your progress."

Walking into the next room cautiously, a single Krogan stood at a terminal a courtyard. This had to be Okeer, the Commander thought, holstering her pistol and walking to the Krogan doctor.

The Krogan glanced over his shoulder at the new arrivals, irritation shown on his face.

"It's about time." Okeer said, "The batteries on these tanks will not wait while your play with these idiot mercs!"

The Commander was irritated, "Not the smartest way to greet the heavily armed group that just kicked in your door."

Okeer was not intimidated, "I'm sure whoever sent you does not want me dead. No one looks for me without a motive. Certainly not the deceased Shepard."

The Commander only raised her eyebrow in confusion as the Krogan explained further.

"Surprised? Every Krogan should know you. Or have you forgotten your actions on Virmire?" Now the Doctor had turned around to face the Commander head on.

"I'm sure you would love to retell me what happened." The Commander encouraged.

Okeer gave a large toothy grin, though the smile was not made from a jovial occasion. The grin that the old Krogan gave was malicious, as if he was trying to stir an angry mob to make them succumb to their primal instincts.

"What a Tale! Saren, the traitor Spectre threatens the return of the Krogan horde by curing the Genophage, undoing the gentle genocide of the Turians and Salarians!" Okeer exclaimed, "But before Saren can deliver his endless troops, in rides Shepard, securing victory through nuclear fire."

Okeer turned, still grinning, "I like that part. It holds weight."

"I won't apologize for what I did, it was either that or allow Saren to have unlimited Krogan army." The Commander defended.

But instead of an outraged response, the Krogan doctor lifted a hand, shaking his head.

"But I approve." Okeer reassured, "Saren's pale horde were not true Krogan. Numbers alone are nothing. The mistake of an outsider, one these mercenaries have also made."

The doctor turned away and walked to the observation window over looking the courtyard.

"I gave their leader my rejects for her army. But she grows impatient. It's time for you to take me out of here."

"We're here about the Collectors, not your problems." Garrus informed.

The Krogan turned to face the squad.

"I see. Yes. Collector attacks have increased. A human concern. My requests were focused elsewhere." Okeer explained, directing his attention to the tank beside the terminal.

"I acquired the knowledge to make one pure Krogan. With that, I will inflect upon the Genophage the greatest insult an enemy can suffer: to be ignored."

The Krogan looked at the towering Spartan and smiled, "Most Krogan are born and are coddled while sucking at the teat. These Krogan are weak, unfit to be warriors. But I wanted to make the perfect Krogan, one worthy to spread honor to the Krogan race."

The Doctor circled the Spartan, while examining him.

"Like you. You have been genetically modified; I can smell it in you. Though not Krogan, you have what most Krogan lack: strength, endurance, and agility beyond what any mere human has. You are a fine example of what all Krogan should be."

"I am here to fight alongside the Commander." Master chief replied.

Okeer was even more intrigued, "And loyalty. The most respected quality of a warrior." Okeer stopped directly in front of the Spartan, "Or a fool."

The Commander gritted her teeth in irritation, she had had enough of the old Krogan's fanatical ideology.

"I'm getting you out of here, Cerberus has an interrogator to find out if your useful or not." The Commander said.

Okeer turned from the Spartan and back to the Commander, "Any group the spent enough to rebuild you won't care what happens to me. Perhaps we can strike a deal. One that secures my prototype, It is key."

Suddenly the loudspeakers throughout the compound blared to life, carrying through the sound of Jedore's infuriated voice.

" Attention. I have traced the Krogan release. Okeer, of course."

The Krogan doctor quickly moved to the observation window. In the courtyard was Jedore, looking back at him, with a hand to her earpiece.

"I'm calling a 'blank slate' on this project. Gas the Commandoes and start over from Okeer's data. Flush the tanks!"

Suddenly, the pipes all around the lab began to burst.

Okeer gritted his teeth, " She is that weak willed? She will kill my legacy with a damn valve!"

Turning to the Squad, Okeer spoke hastily, "Shepard, you want information on the Collectors? Stop her. She'll try to access contaminants in the storage bay."

The Commander shook her head, "You are not in a position to negotiate at the moment."

"I understand. But you will have nothing if she poisons us all." Okeer reasoned, "Jedore will be with the rejected tanks. I will…stay, and do what must be done."

As the Krogan began rapidly typing at the terminal, the Squad quickly rushed out of the labs, heading for the courtyard. Heading down the ramps that lead to the courtyard, the Commander was sure he scares were beginning to burn the flesh on her cheeks. To her right she could feel the concerned look Garrus was giving her, but right now she had to focus on the current objective. Opening the doors that lead to the courtyard, the Squad could hear Jedore yelling to her Troops.

"I don't care who they are! I want them dead! This is my world! I'll poison them all!"

The Squad sprinted as slugs peppered their position, moving behind the tanks for cover. Peeking her head out of cover, Shepard could see the Jedore from across their position along with a YMIR mech. The YMIR's rocket launcher and machine gun would make it difficult to traverse the battlefield.

Facing her squad, the Commander barked orders over the gunfire, "We need that mech out of commission!" Shepard yelled, "Garrus, provide us with suppressive fire on that mech."

A rocket blast near the their position knocked to their sides. Garrus quickly moved to his feet, aiming down the sights of his M-29 Incisor, and firing at the mech from across the courtyard.

"Master Chief, with me!" Shepard ordered.

The Master chief quickly moved with the commander down the ramp that led to the lower level of the courtyard. Over the sound of her heart racing, the Commander could hear Garrus fire shots at the YMIR mech. Then, something of the Commander's peripheral vision caught her attention. The red blur shot towards her fast, and the turned to face her opponent fully.

In front of the Commander stood one of the tank bred Krogan, the Commando was still wet from being released from the tank, and fluids soaked his body. Shepard lifted her assault rifle and began pelting the creature with slugs, tearing away at his armor. The Krogan roared, running head long toward the two soldiers. The Krogan was less than an inch away before a green line extended from her side, colliding with the Krogan's face and pushing the beast back.

From behind the Commander, the Master chief began fire round at the Krogan's face, slicing the skin and head crest from close range.

"I'll cover from here!" The Master chief said, as the Krogan fell to the ground.

Moving up the incline to the other side of the courtyard, where Jedore was waiting for her.

"I will kill you all!" Jedore said in a maniacal frenzy.

Aiming her missile launcher at the Commander. The Commander only had a second to jump to her right into cover as the ground next to her erupted in an explosion. Popping a heat sink, the Commander stood out of cover and started firing rounds at the Blue sun. As her tech armor fizzled under the constant stream of slugs, Jedore was forced to seek cover. Moving out of cover, the Commander kept the Blue sun in cover with selective shots.

On the lower level, the Master chief was combating waves of Krogan, while Garrus kept the Mech's attention; who was now moving down to the lower levels. Every shot was slowly eating away at the Mech's armor. But then the mech turned its attention to the Spartan, who was still fighting the tank bred Krogan on the ground. Garrus tried to regain the Mech's attention, but a rocket shot made him press back into cover.

"Chief, look out!" Garrus yelled over the COMS.

Shooting a Krogan to the ground, the Master chief realized the danger he was in. In front of him were eight Krogan Commandoes, and behind them stood the colossal YMIR Mech. The Spartan quickly fell back as the Mech's gun tore away at the Krogan behind him. Jumping over a Storage crate, the Master chief pressed his back against it. Heated slugs from the YMIR's gun began to tear away at the cover the Spartan had.

Garrus, having recovered from the rocket blast, took shots at the Mech's back. The Mech whirled, shooting along the ridge in which the Turian was perched. The Master chief noticed the YMIR was distracted reloaded his assault rifle before charging out of cover, grabbing one of the shotguns that lay on the ground. With shotgun and assault rifle in hand, the Master chief strafed to the right while firing at the Mech's back. Caught un aware, the Mech retaliated be firing a rocket at the Spartan's position, but the Master Chief quickly dove out of the way. From behind, Garrus took aim at the Mech's head, taking his time to take the shot.

On ground level, the Master chief dashed around Krogan as he kept firing at the Mech. One Krogan had managed to get in front of the Spartan, but a swift knee to the face brought the Krogan fall on its back. Though the Master chief had not taken any physical damage, his shields were absorbing more than they could take and were on the brink of collapse. As a Krogan rushed to his left, the Spartan covered his chest as shotgun blast penetrated his shield and knocked him back. Stumbling but regaining his footing, the Spartan quickly lifted the shotgun in one hand and fired directly at the Krogan's head; the burst of blood and skeletal material were flung through the air. Turning back, his eyes were met staring down the barrel of the Mech's rocket launcher. When looking up to see the Mech's head however, revealed an explosion of metal and hardware.

"YMIR is down." Garrus said with a sigh of relief.

As the Mech fell on its back, The Spartan noticed a pack of Krogan marching toward his position. The Master chief lifted the assault rifle in on and fired the remaining Krogan. Popping a heat sink, the Spartan quickly had to cover his eyes as a rocket hit dead cent of the pack and exploded. Both he and Garrus were surprised as they looked to the opposite side of the Courtyard.

The Commander smirked at the damage caused by the rocket launcher she had requisitioned from Jedore. As there was no ammo left in the weapon, the Commander dropped it next to the blood soaked Blue sun, and walked to other side of the courtyard.

Shepard smiled genuinely, "Nice work, lets get back to Okeer and—'

Suddenly the alarms in the lab began blaring loudly over the courtyard.

"Alarms in the lab! What is that Krogan doing up there!" Garrus yelled.

The COMS in the Squads headpieces activated, "Shepard, the alarms coincide with a systems failure." EDI relayed, "The remaining lab systems are unprotected and I have gained limited access. According to lab scanners, the room is flooded with toxins, and Okeer's personal signs are failing rapidly. I recommend haste."

The Commander cursed, "Double time, we need to get Okeer out of the labs!" Shepard barked as the squad raced back to the labs.  
***

"You gave me time Shepard. If I knew why the Collectors wanted humans, I would tell you. But everything is in my prototype. My legacy is pure. This…one soldier, this grunt. Perfect."

The final message Okeer had left replayed over the Krogan's lifeless body. Okeer had preserved his legacy, but at the cost of his life. The Commander gritted her teeth, she knew that letting the doctor stay was a bad idea. Looking at the tank, the Commander sighed.

"Why would someone so fanatical sacrifice himself for one Krogan?" Garrus wondered.

"We should probably destroy it." The Master chief remarked.

The Commander shook her head, "No. Okeer risk his life to save him. He could prove useful."

The Commander lifted opened up the COMS, "_Normandy_, Okeer is a no-go. But we have package that needs retrieval."

"And he's a big one."

* * *

(1): The stock of a shotgun is folded over the receiver so that the handle is pointed upward. For those who may not understand what I am saying, just search on the Internet for a diagram of a shotgun to understand all these technical terms. (Yes, I actually do look up information on these types of things.)

* * *

**Authors Note:** This Chapter took a long time to finish, but it is here! Chapter 11!

I hope you guys liked the battle sequences I put in here; I actually put in a lot of effort into them. Which reminds me…

Here is a big shout out to _Just a Crazy-Man_ for helping me with writing some of the battle scenes. (You rock man!)

Though I am still looking for a Beta reader, _Just a Crazy-Man_ did provide me with help writing, and for that I am really grateful.

So I guess I will continue the hunt for a Beta, just got to get the right net…

Next Chapter is going to be a bit more technical as we learn a bit more about some of the crew.

I hope you enjoyed reading the story, and it entices you to leave a review and continue reading as more chapters are release!

…I love you…You complete me...

Taking you back to '83,

Bleachedcookie


	12. Chapter 12: Tools of the Trade

**Disclaimer**: Mass effect and the Halo franchise are property of Bioware and Bungie respectively. If I owned either one, the games' sequels would never come out in time. ( though nothings really new about that.)

Chapter 12

Logistics, Technology, and Tools of The Trade

Miranda paced in _Normandy's_ Comm. room, Her mind wrapping around the events that transpired in the last hour. The mission to recruit the Krogan scientist, Dr. Okeer, had not gone as anticipated. Dr. Okeer was dead, much to the dismay of the Cerberus operative, and what was left of the mad scientist's existence was tank-bred Krogan. A small reward for their efforts, or was it? Miranda was unsure of the unconscious Krogan, and the deranged tank-bred Krogan on Korlus did nothing to consol her fears on the Tank now located in the ship's cargo bay.

They were not sure if the Krogan was even cohesive, much less willing to cooperate with them. The Krogan could have been insane all together.

"The Krogan is an unpredictable element; it could prove problematic." Miranda argued to the man across from her.

"Or it could prove to be an asset to the team. We could always use a heavy hitter." Jacob countered.

Jacob disagreed with his colleague, and for the last half hour, the X.O. had tried to convince him to oppose the idea of releasing the Krogan. But he saw the potential of having the Krogan's presence in their squad.

Miranda's eyebrows furrowed, ignoring the Commander's presence as she entered the room, she continued to defend her position.

"Bringing the Krogan for study makes sense, but I have concerns about waking it."

"Yeah, you've said that a few times now." Jacob responded tiredly.

"A normal Krogan is dangerous. This one was created, and likely educated by a madman."

The Commander understood Miranda's viewpoint, but she, like Jacob, also saw the potential of having such an intimidating element to her squad. It would be a waste to just keep such a thing within its tank for experimentation; seeing the trouble they had to endure to obtain the Krogan.

"Okeer is dead, and I'm not going to waste a possible crew members. So I'm opening the tank." The Commander concluded, making her way for the door.

Jacob nodded, "Understood Commander, it's your call."

"But Commander—" Miranda pleaded.

Shepard was in no mood for insubordination; she turned to face her X.O., her eyes starting to burn as her cybernetics flared. Miranda regarded the Commander as a very capable soldier, maybe the best soldier she had ever seen. But facts were facts; they did not know what the Krogan was capable of and the Commander was taking a significant risk letting the Krogan loose. But seeing the Commander's eyes made the Cerberus operative silence her protests, letting the Commander walk out of the room without another word.

* * *

Noble six stood silently in the mess hall, watching intently as the _Normandy's_ crew went about their daily routine. Leaning in between one of the partings of the med-bay's windows, the Spartan had his arms folded over his armored chest. He made no motion to interact with any of the crew, and he simple allowed himself to blend into the background. Though, standing roughly six feet with full armor did not provide the necessary camouflage he wanted.

Periodically, a crewman would give him a glance as if they were waiting for him to attack. But when the Spartan made no immediate movement, the offending crewmember would go back to their duties, albeit cautiously. None of the crewmembers made any motion to get near the super soldier, which did not bother him in the slightest as he preferred to be left alone. Though Noble one had ordered him to monitor the mess hall.

_The room was quiet making the room seem almost hollow. Most of Noble team left their quarters to view the rest of the ship, leaving Noble one, two, and six to talk. Noble six stood silently, back rigid as his eyes fallowed his commander underneath his helmet. In the dark room, the light had been dimmed for sleeping purposes, which added a temporal atmosphere to the entire room. Kat sat at on one of the lower bunk beds attached to the left wall, her attention focused on a data pad that illuminated her face. Carter stood directly in front of Six with his hands behind his back._

"_We don't know whether Shepard will hold her end of the bargain," Carter said, "so we have to be ready if HIGHCOM gives us the order to clean house."_

"_What do you need me to do sir?" Noble six questioned._

"_Kat has already taken care of surveillance bugs in the hangar and engineering deck. We need an understanding of defensive positions, and possible kill zones." Carter explained._

"_Yes sir." Noble six confirmed._

_Carter smirked, "That's what I like to hear. You'll need to focus on the crew quarters since that's the most populated area of the ship. Dismissed."_

_As Noble six saluted and was dismissed, Kat's voice stopped him as he was inches away from the door._

"_Oh, and by the way Six, you're going to be in the presence of a lot of people." Kat stated, her eyes not leaving the Data pad within her hands._

"_Will that be a problem ma'am?" Six questioned._

"_Only if you allow it to be." Kat said with her eyes flicking upward to look at the Spartan fully. _

_Noble Six nodded before exiting the room, wondering what problems could arise from such an assignment: it was just a simple reconnaissance mission._

"Hello Noble Six." a light voice greeted from the Spartan's side.

Snapping his head to his side, the sudden action startling the woman beside him. Noble six recognized the small red headed woman as the ship's yeoman. She had talked to the rest of Noble team before they settled into their living quarters. Noble six had determined that the yeoman had ill intentions as her pleasant greeting was, if any, clear indication.

After the initial scare had subsided, Kelly took a deep breath and smiled at the Spartan who regarded her with the same unwavering stare. From his body language, Kelly could tell that the Spartan was hiding something: his arms were tightly crossed over his chest with his legs held closely together. The Spartan's entire body was tensed and held rigid, as if he feared it would fall apart if he didn't hold himself together. These subtle things were the signs of a closed body, which in a number of ways could have caused the Spartan to act this way.

But by the way he had put his body in a leaning stance against the wall, as a way to mimic a relaxed position, was a clear sign he was trying to hide something from her.

She had noticed such closed behavior when she had first interviewed the Spartan over their psychiatric evaluation; when the Yeoman had asked a question, the Spartan would answer directly without giving any personal outlook. It had seemed natural at first, given the soldier's militaristic behavior. But when the yeoman had tried to ask personal questions; favorable past times, experiences during childhood, even opinions on Cerberus, the Spartan avoided answering any of the questions completely.

What made him so different from the other Spartans had been his avoidance of social interactions. Kelly had been left wondering if Noble Six was troubled about something, so She decided to see what was on the soldier's mind.

"So what do you think of the ship?" The yeoman asked curiously.

The Spartan looked around the mess hall, observing his surroundings thoroughly. In truth, Noble Six felt much more restless in the Normandy than he did in any other Military vessel. While the Cerberus crewmembers were one cause for his unease, Noble Six had never seen a military ship more spacious accommodations. The _Normandy-SR2_ was the first frigate he had seen with such a large med bay and laboratory.

But what made the _Normandy_ contrast from any ship he had served on was the liberal attitude of the crew. Such behavior would not have been acceptable in any other military vessel, even in social places like the mess. The Spartan supposed such behavior was acceptable, as Cerberus seemed to care less about formalities. He had never had felt so out of place before.

Noble Six brought his attention back to the yeoman, "She's a good ship."

"I'm sure you have met the crew." Kelly said.

"Yes, ma'am."

Kelly smiled cordially, "Please, call me Kelly."

Noble Six stared tentatively at the yeoman; his charcoal visor hid his curious expression. He himself was not accustomed to informalities among military personnel, the very thought felt out of place in his military doctrine.

"I am afraid I cannot do that, ma'am." Noble six said, holding a hand up apologetically.

Kelly noticed the hesitance in the Spartan's actions, but did not say anything, instead nodding in acknowledgement.

"Then Ms. Chambers would do just as well." Kelly persisted.

Noble Six thought the proposal over for a moment, and when he found nothing wrong with it, he nodded in acceptance.

"Yes…Ms. Chambers." Six said, testing the foreign name to hear how it sounded.

Kelly seemed to smile happily by being called by her name, and Noble Six felt satisfied that the action was to the Yeoman's liking.

"Have you had any problems settling in?" Kelly asked pleasantly.

"No, Ms. Chambers, I have not." Noble Six replied monotonously.

Kelly noted the Spartans tone as if he were just answering questions to a debriefing than engaging in a casual conversation. But the Yeoman did not let this new observation stop the little conversation; she wanted to learn a little more about the Spartan.

Kelly decided to set a more casual conversation than assaulting the Spartan with questions, "You know, when I started working on the _Normandy_, I remember thinking to myself…"

Kelly was going to say more, but the_ Normandy's_ speakers burst to life. What surprised the Yeoman was that the ship's pilot or AI spoke through the speakers, but the AI Cortana.

"All squad report to the Cargo bay on the engineering deck immediately! I repeat: All squad report to the engineering deck!"

Noble Six moved from his leaning position against the wall he was using for support and moved forward, but he stopped short before turning back to the Yeoman, hesitatingly.

"If you would excuse me, Ms. Chambers." He said before hurrying to the _Normandy's _elevator.

* * *

Miranda exited the elevator as quickly as she could with Jacob follow shortly after. She the Commander was going to face the repercussions of her actions when she said she would open the tank, but she had not expected the entire squad to be needed to handle a single Krogan. Taking a right turn through the corridor, she could see the rest of the Squad awaiting her. Garrus was to the left side of the door leading to the Cargo bay with Noble One on the right side of the door. Mordin and Jack stood behind the Turian, while Noble Four, Three, and Six were positioned behind Noble One. The Master chief, and Noble Five were positioned in front of the blast doors, ready to breach the room.

"Oh finally, the Cerberus bitch decides to show up." Jack said haughtily.

Miranda frowned, but did not reply to the convict's comment; instead she focused on the situation at hand. The backdoor leading to the ship's Cargo bay was locked, probably the Commander's own doing to keep the Krogan locked in the Cargo bay if a problem should arise. A necessary precaution, but now it was an obstacle the Squad was left to face. Miranda readied herself as Noble Two began hacking through the Cargo bay doors.

* * *

Inside the cargo bay there was very little space to maneuver around in, and this small fact was something the Commander had not fully put into account when she decided to release the Krogan. This had proven a near fatal mistake when, upon release, the Krogan charged forward and pinned the Commander to a nearby bulkhead. With the Krogan's forearm pressed firmly against her throat, Shepard knew that only a little more force was needed to break her neck. The announcement over the speakers went off only moments prior, but the Commander did not want the squad to intervene; this was a situation she wanted to solve will minimal casualties.

The Krogan sniffed the air for a moment, taking in the Commander's scent. The Krogan's two blue eyes stared the Commander down, looking for any sign of fear.

"Human, Female." The Krogan spoke, "Before you die, I need a name."

"I'm Commander Shepard of the _Normandy_, and for your sake you better put me down."

The Krogan gave the Commander a look of displeasure, as the Commander's answer was not the answer he was looking for.

"Not your name. Mine." The Krogan reiterated, "I am trained, I know things, but Okeer couldn't plant connection. His words are hollow."

The Krogan's eyes searched franticly as if looking for a hidden answer somewhere.

"Warlord, legacy, grunt…"Grunt," was among the last. It has no meaning. It'll do."

Now the Krogan's eyes looked back at the Commander, directing his attention to his captive.

"I am Grunt, if you are worthy of your command, prove your strength and try to destroy me."

The Commander was confused by the Krogan's request. Death was not a sought after commodity among most, and although she would have gladly dealt it to those who asked, she was greatly puzzled as to why the Krogan who had just been 'born'.

"You've just step foot into the world, and already you want to die?" Shepard asked.

"Want? I do what I am meant to—fight and reveal the strongest. Nothing in the tank ever asked what I want." The Krogan's eyes narrowed, "I feel nothing for Okeer's clan or his enemies. That imprint has failed. He has failed."

The forearm held against her neck pressed further, as Shepard gritted her teeth to the pain.

The Krogan's eyes narrowed, "Without a reason that's mine, one fight is as good as any other. Might as well start with you."

The Commander's eyes began to burn and her cheeks flared with her cybernetics. The frustration she felt toward this "Grunt" was beginning to boil into rage.

"I released you, and this is how you repay me?" Shepard growled.

"I owe you nothing Human. You are unworthy of a fight, might as well kill you now." The Krogan spat, "I am stronger than you in everyway. Imprints of Human weakness: where to break your spine, the shortest path to organs. Your words are worthless."

Shepard sighed, "I was trying to be nice, but you've forced my hand."

As the last word passed through her lips, the Commander pulled the trigger to the pistol she had pressed against the Krogan's armored chest. As the slug hit the Krogan's chest, the forced pushed him back. This gave the Commander time to place three more shots to behemoth's exposed chest and abdomen. After a moments pause, the Krogan lifted it's head, a look of pure excitement washed over his face. A trickle of blood from the Krogan's mouth slid down his chin, but he did not move to wipe it clean.

Cracking his neck, the Krogan relaxed his tense muscles, "You offer one hand, but arm the other—and don't hesitate. Maybe you are a worthy opponent."

Moving into a charging stance, the Krogan prepared himself to attack, "Are you ready to fight, Shepard?"

The Commander still had her pistol raised with the sites directed toward the Krogan's head. He gaze flicked toward the blast door leading to the engineering deck corridor, the red glow of the lock shifting to a bright green. The Commander gave a subtle smile, putting her pistol back to her side. This made the Krogan give her a look of confusion.

"While I would love to fight you, I'm afraid you've got bigger problems." The Commander said, motioning to the door.

As the Krogan turned to face the blast door, the door suddenly opened to reveal the Commander's squad. The following actions were executed with precision as the Squad began to flood the room. Noble Four had charged forward, knocking the Krogan off balance and onto the deck floor, pointing his shotgun point blank in the Krogan's face as the rest of the squad moved along the walls of the room. Miranda made her way toward the Commander, keeping her pistol trained on the Krogan's head.

"Shepard, are you alright?" Miranda asked.

"I'll be fine. He got me pretty good though." The Commander replied.

Walking calmly to Noble four's side, The Commander studied the Krogan carefully. The Krogan's expression held nothing but pure delight, which was unsurprising given his earlier actions.

"Will you join me or do I have to kill you?" Shepard asked retrieving her pistol and pointing it directed at the Krogan's head.

The Krogan gave a loud throaty laugh, "You have a strong clan, and you will bring worthy enemies. It would be foolish not to join you."

As the Krogan lifted himself off the ground, the Commander motioned for the Squad to lower their weapons. Holstering her pistol, the Commander watched the Krogan stand at his full height.

"If I find a clan, if I find what I… I want. I will be honored to pit them against you." Grunt nodded in approval.

* * *

The following hours on the engineering deck were filled with tension. The events that had transpired earlier in the day had made the two engineers uneasy. What was more unsettling were the two Spartans that were now stationed on the far side of the room. Kenneth and Gabriella had gotten used to seeing the Spartans as they had shared the engineering deck, but what was unsettling was the fact that both of them had not taken their weapons back to the armory.

Kat was working on the metal machine on the far left wall, while Carter was standing behind her, looking over her shoulder as she worked. Both of them had taken their helmets off, but the two still looked intimidating with their armor on. Even Kat look intimidating, even though she was positioned in a kneeling position on the deck floor with her back to them. Kenneth looked at the Spartan with a side-glance, taking particular interest in Kat's rump.

"You know, I don't particularly mind having that one around." Kenneth whispered with a sly grin.

Gabrielle did not need to look in Kenneth's direction to know what he was talking about. As his partner in crime, she had gotten used to the man's perverse behavior.

"Oh sure. What with her sticking her butt up in the air." Gabby replied, rolling her eyes.

"Hey, I find nothing wrong with that," Kenneth countered, "I think it's perfectly fine if she wants to show her finer assets."

"I can hear you two over there."

The engineers snapped their heads to their right, both completely surprised. They had kept their voices low enough to keep their conversation to themselves, how the Spartan could hear them from across the room. Kenneth shot his head back to his terminal while Gabby chuckled, taking pleasure in the other's embarrassment. As the room was pulled back into silence, Gabby took periodic glances at the Spartan. She seemed so absorbed in her work; Gabby was left to wonder what the Spartan was doing.

"So what are you doing anyway?" Gabby asked curiously.

Kat stopped with her work and turned around to look at the engineer, giving an aggravated sigh, "If you must know, I am adjusting the ship's saddle-box so we don't get teleported into oblivion the next time we use it."

Now looking fully in the Spartans' direction, the two engineers waited for the Spartan to say more with looks of astonishment. But Kat only went back to working on the machine.

Gabby silently observed the 'Saddle-box's' design: the grey machine was no more than four feet in width and three feet in length and height. On one of the metal panels was an insignia that she had never seen before that read, 'UNSC' on a banner with what appeared to be an eagle holding it in it's talon. This same insignia was marked on the Spartans' armored chests.

"Since I've never heard of a 'Saddle-box' before, I'm assuming it is UNSC exclusive tech."

Kat did not look up as she responded, "Experimental technology, yes."

"So why hasn't the Alliance ever used anything like it, I mean you're all on the same side right?" Kenneth inquired.

Carter cleared his throat, making Kat pause and look up at him. His face held a disapproving frown. Kat had already said too much; she was not even supposed to know anything about this technology let alone be modifying it. But, as she had done many times before, she had decided to dig deeper into information with top-level clearance. It would be considered high treason if this information was ever spread to outside sources, but Kat had assured him that she had covered her tracks from being followed by Cerberus protocols and observation software.

Carter was compliant, if reluctant, to allow Kat to make the adjustments; but talking to the Cerberus engineers about this type of information was crossing the line.

After a moment's pause, she finally relented, allowing Carter to answer for her.

"This is type of technology is still experimental. Even we do not fully comprehend its complexity." Carter explained, "And even with what we do know, it would cause trillions of credits to manufacture something like this for every ship in the Alliance fleet."

"In layman's terms, it would be better if we invested in something that we knew more about, rather than spending money for something that could blowup in your face." Kat added.

Kenneth was still curious, "Ok, so how does it work?"

Carter began to dismiss the other's question, "That's classified-"

"The Saddle-box uses a very small Shaw-Fujikawa Translight engine to create ruptures, between normal space and an alternate plane known as slipspace." Kat explained.

Carter looked back at his teammate in surprise as she freely gave out the information to the Cerberus engineers. Kat looked back at her commander defiantly, inviting the other's challenging glare. Carter's blue eyes were stern, but Kat's identical pair were not willing to back down this time.

"Kat—" Carter warned in a stern voice.

"He asked Commander, might as well explain." Kat countered.

On the opposite side of the room, Kenneth and Gabby observed with intrigue at the two Spartan's interaction. Kat reminded Gabby of Kenneth's defiant nature, something that caught the attention of Cerberus. To the two of them, the two Spartan's seemed to be locked in a silent stare down. After a minute, Carter's will seemed to have waned as he closed his eyes, shacking his head.

"Fine." he conceded.

Kat did not show it, but her eyes lit up with triumph. Moving so she was fully facing the engineers, she sat down on the deck floor to get in a more comfortable position.

"As I was saying, the drive allows us to go into slipspace by using wormholes." She continued," This slipspace acts as a sort of shortcut, allowing us to travel through space in a reasonable amount of time."

"But if that's the case, why not use normal FTL?" Gabby asked.

"While using convention faster than light travel seems more effective, slipspace allows for safer travel in less the amount of time. " Kat explained, "It also makes it easier to escape battle; as ship's with slipspace drives can enter slipspace, without being traced by enemy ships. Because of this, using slipspace is also used to transport supplies as ships cannot be attacked within slipspace."

"So this saddle-box allows us to go through slipspace." Kenneth stated, "But that still doesn't explain why Alliance ship's don't have this type of technology, it could really give them an edge."

"Because of the complications." Carter said.

Kat nodded soberly, "Besides the obvious financial expenses, the slipspace drive is still dangerous. The engine creates these ruptures by using particle accelerators to generate microscopic black holes. Because these little black holes have a low mass, hawking radiation gives them the life span of a nano-second before evaporating into thermal energy. The drive takes and manipulates the nano-seconds of life these ruptures have, and manipulate them to transfer from normal space and slipspace."

"Whoa, hold on." Gabby interrupted, "So that thing basically uses black holes to shoot us through slipspace? Isn't that a little dangerous?"

Kat frowned in annoyance, "Sometimes these small black holes can result in disappearances of the engineers who are performing maintenance on the drive. So yes, it can be very dangerous."

Both Gabby and Kenneth felt an ominous feeling of fear tug at their hearts. They both questioned whether they should even be on the ship, now that they knew the true nature of the mysterious machine and its morbid complications. The air was filled with an awkward silence that choked the sound of the _Normandy's_ drive core.

"All this technology doesn't seem human." Gabby muttered to herself.

"The technology isn't entirely ours."

Both engineers waited for the Spartan to elaborate, seeing Carter had give the other a warning glance. When it became clear that she was not going to explain any further, the two engineers quickly allowed the silence to continue.

"Is there anything else you want to know?" Kat's voice cut through the silence once more.

Both Kenneth and Gabriella shook their heads.

Kat simply shrugged, "Glad I could clear the air." She muttered, turning back to the Saddle box and continuing her adjustments.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Wow, it took me to the end of summer to finish this? :'c (god, I'm sorry! So, so sorry!)  
I hope the length will make up for my absences, though this is a very measly gift. Something tells me I'll get back on track during the school year...  
Anyway, lets get back on track: so I wanted to give a real big shout out to my beta reader, _**Shardheart**_, for helping me along with this. Without him, this chapter would be lacking the aesthetic quality it has now.  
Thankfully we'll be partners in crime for a while, so I won't have to search for a beta anymore. :D  
Next Chapter will come around soon: I mean it this time! I want to get this story finished before Mass Effect 3 is out! (Challenge has been made. Challenge accepted!)

Going around the moon and back,

Bleachedcookie


	13. Chapter 13: A Dark Sun Over the Horizon

**Disclaimer:** Mass Effect and Halo are both owned by Bioware and Bungie respectfully.

Chapter 13

A Dark Sun Over the Horizon

The Kodiak shuttle descended through the planet's atmosphere pushing past the light clouds to the planet's surface. The colony of Horizon exemplified the very image of normality: plain white buildings, clear light blue skies, and periodic spots of forests dotting the terrain. The colony itself lacked the glowing neon strips that blanketed most cities in Citadel space, but the calm atmosphere of the terminus colony was soothing. The Colony was simple in appearance and personality, with no eye-catching feature. But soon the calm blue sky turned to violent turrets of red clouds, and pockets of bug like creatures swept over the sky.

As Shepard looked through the side window of the Shuttle as it circled around the colony, the commander felt a familiar sense of dread plague her mind. Communications with the colony had gone dark only three hours prior, and already the Collectors had begun abducting the colonists. The images of the empty corridors and buildings of Freedom's Progress resurfaced in the commander's thoughts: a silent town filled with nothing but empty buildings left behind. She had arrived to the colony too late to stop the colonists from being taken. She would not allow make the same mistake twice.

As the Kodiak landed near the settlement, the commander took the moment to look at her ground team. Grunt and Jack looked back at the commander; the krogan cracked his knuckles in anticipation, while the biotic gave a nod. As the shuttle doors opened, the commander signaled her squad to move out. Stepping out into the open air, the commander looked toward the center of the colony where a large ship stood against the darkened red sky. The Ship had hard rock like exterior and spherical shape. The large craft towered over the small colony like a tall spire extending into the sky.

Shepard turned on her communications channel, "Mordin, are you sure these new armor upgrades will protect us against the seeker swarms?"

"In theory. In small groups, should remain undetected against seeker swarms."

"In theory?" the krogan grunted, stepping out of the shuttle.

There was a slight pause of consideration on the other end of the channel, "No real way of knowing for sure. Only real test is to use against seeker swarms." The Salarian explained, "Will be glad to see you if you survive."

Shepard frowned, seeing as she would be putting her life on the line to see if the upgrades to her hardsuit would withstand the small bug-like swarms. As the team hurried to the entrance of the colony, she noticed the abundance of empty buildings. On Freedom's Progress, the colony had also been left in such a state, completely lifeless. Shepard scanned the settlement, but she could not find any trace of the colonists.

"Commander, when the shuttle has returned to the Normandy's hangar, would you like to send Noble team down planet side?" EDI's voice carried over the Communications channel.

"Send them down to the opposite side of the colony after we get an idea of the situation." The commander ordered.

"Come ag-Com-ander-e're l-ing yo-" The Channel crackled.

"Swarms must be messing with our signal." Jack proposed. The commander agreed, moving ahead of her squad they followed her as she went deeper into the settlement.

The buildings were silent as the armored group passed with the sounds of the seeker swarms flying over their heads. The commander's eyes scanning the area meticulously; She was anxious, as each building was a potential spot for an ambush. Seeing an open doorway to one of the buildings, she noticed a subtle flash of light race across the pitch-black entrance. She ordered her squad to form up behind her. Moving closer to the door, Shepard slowed passing through the threshold into the darkened building. She flicked her hand across a light switch next to door, and the room was draped in a dimmed light. Not a single person could be found.

As the squad fully entered the room, Shepard looked around for any signs of life. To her right was a small dining room, plates still left on the table with a small high chair sitting on its side on the floor. It was as if the residents just abruptly left leaving their forks still in their food and their glasses half empty. To their immediate left was a long window that ran the length of the dining room. Beyond the squad was the kitchen, the lights off. Instinctively, the commander the notified her team lifting a closed fist mid air, signaling her squad to hold their position as she moved slowly towards the kitchen. As she neared the counter partitioning her from the kitchen, she noticed the slight outlines of pots and pans strewn across the floor. A loud clattering sound caught the commander's attention making her body go rigid in anticipation. When all was silent, she moved fully into the kitchen, eyes straining to peer through the darkness. Looking to the far right corner of the kitchen she saw two bright luminous blue orbs stare at her blankly. In the dark, the commander could slightly make out a humanoid form; its arms were cradled around its legs in a fetal position.

Shepard steadied her rifle on the person as she spoke, "Who are you? Are you one of the colonists?" The form did not respond, but rather, began to grunt and wheeze. The bright blue orbs keeping their ominous glow.

The commander steadied her aim on the person's head, her voice taking a more authoritative tone, "Answer me, or I will shoot."

The figure continued to wheeze, and began moaning as it slowly lifted itself off the floor. Shepard noticed the light blue marks that glowed across the figure's body. The figure uncurled its legs revealing dark blue sphere was imbedded in the person's chest making the commander's eyes widen in realization.

Pulling the trigger, Shepard quickly watched as the mass accelerated slugs began to tear at their target just as the figure lunged forward. The light from the muzzle flared and filled the room, revealing the deformed humanoid creature resembling a decaying body in appearance. The creatures mouth opened, arms outstretched, trying to grab her. The slugs quickly forced the creature back, against the kitchen's counter. As light white fluid rushed from the creature's chest, the monstrosity gave a low moan as its body went limp; the lights that marred the creature's skin flickered out.

By then the Squad had rushed to the commander's side to see the limp body that sunk to the floor in the white pool of fluid.

After a moment's hesitation, Jack spoke, "Hey, I remember reading about this thing in an article on the net; you fought these things on Eden Prime, right?"

The commander nodded, "They're called husks. But this husk seems different somehow…evolved." She paused in contemplation. Were these beings actually the colonists? On Eden Prime, the enemy had used spikes to impale their victims, and given that she had not seen any said device anywhere since their arrival, it did not seem like the case.

"They still die when you shoot them." Grunt remarked, giving the dead husk a nudge from his foot.

Turning her attention back to the living room Shepard took one last look at the dead husk on the floor. As she stepped back into the other room, she took a second to peer through the window. The colony was simple enough, without the seeker swarms; Horizon probably would have looked quite peaceful. Then, something caught her eye: it looked like a dirty brown figure with a flat skull and big bug eyes. Behind it, the commander noticed two more bug like creatures move out the other buildings ahead of her and started advancing on the squad's position.

"Get ready for a fight, Collectors advancing on our position!"

As if on cue, the Collectors began to fire at the building. Quickly Shepard smashed the window and returned fire with Grunt at her side. Jack gave out a roar as blue light began to encompass her hands. Using her biotics, the convict sent shockwaves through the ground, hitting two Collectors ahead of them. Shepard seized the opportunity and jumped through the window with Grunt quickly following suit. The commander rushed to the side of a building for cover as slugs struck the wall. Leaning out of Cover, sh noticed Grunt had not stopped his charge.

"Grunt, get behind cover!" Shepard yelled over the gunfire. But the krogan continued forward.

Around him slugs tore through the air, some even striking his armor and head crest, but Grunt continued his advance toward the Collectors.

The commander grit her teeth and moved out of cover, strafing to her right and firing shots at the enemy who had moved into cover behind guardrails and partitions. As she made her advance, she felt tremors rush past her, the shockwave missing her by inches and into a Collector ahead of her knocking it out of cover. Stumbling back, the Collector was left open as Grunt rammed his forearm into its skull, knocking it to the ground. Laying his sites on the downed Collector, the krogan let out bursts of fire from his shotgun.

Behind him, A Collector had laid the krogan in its sights from its position behind a guardrail. Pulling the trigger the Collector shot out a particle beam, Its dark yellow stream sizzled through the air, and struck the krogan's armored back, making him fall forward onto a knee. Looking over his shoulder, Grunt roared in anger as the Collector jumped over the guardrail to get a better shot at him. In an instant, its chest was torn open as slugs ripped through its torso. Grunt stared wide-eyed, feeling the tremors of a shockwave pass his body and launch the remaining Collector into the air and falling ten yards away.

Out of his peripheral vision, Shepard stood looking down at him in dissatisfaction. Grunt would not be looked down upon, something within him flared with anger at the thought of it. He lifted himself off the ground, standing up tall with his chest out. As Jack approached the two the commander motioned for the two to follower, giving a final glare at the krogan before leading her team deeper into the colony.

* * *

Inside the Normandy's hangar, the Spartans had gathered and were awaiting further orders. Carter had assembled the team as soon as the commander had landed on Horizon, but no word had been given for the Spartans to deploy. It would be fine to assume that the commander could handle the situation on the Colony; she was a something of a legendary warrior. But something did not sit with well him. In any case, all he could do was be patient and wait for further orders. To his side, the Spartan heard a heavy footstep from his right. Looking up to see Jorge standing next to him, helmet held under his arm.

"Seems like Shepard is going to have her hands full down there. Any idea about what she'll find?"

"I'm more focused on going groundside and getting a full assessment of the situation." Carter replied, "Hopefully we can save the colony."

"And the colonists." Jorge added with a concerned look in his eyes. He was more worried over the families that had gone missing from the other colonies. He hoped the situation would not end like the others.

"We'll save who we can Jorge." Carter reassured his comrade, putting a hand on the others armored shoulder.

A low chuckle was heard from behind the two Spartans, making them turn and give a quizzical look at the dark figure.

Emile had perched himself on the stoop of the docked Shuttle's open doorframe, his left arm resting on his left knee while his right leg laid leisurely outstretched on the floor. The skull carved into the Spartan's visor stared back at the two from across the short distance.

"Is there something you would like to add?" Carter asked sternly.

"I'm surprised he can remain so optimistic, sir."

Jorge grit his teeth, "Oh yeah?

"What makes you think that the colonists haven't been already abducted like the others?" Emile said abrasively.

Jorge felt every muscle in his body begin to flex, he frowned at the other intensely while Emile leaned his body forward, silently daring him to make a move. As Jorge took a step closer, readying himself to fight, he felt a sudden weight on his chest plate. Looking down in surprise, Jorge was surprised to find a green plated glove holding him back. The Master chief gave him a slight nod.

"There's no need for blood bath, big guy." Jun coaxed his comrade from his position atop a generator.

Jorge eased himself back, feeling the other Spartan's hand retract from his armored chest plate. He kept his gaze on Emile, brows knit in frustration. Walking back to his previous spot next to the shuttle, the Chief let his armored shoulder gently bump Jorge's shoulder.

Carter turned his attention to Emile, "Keep it leveled," He then glared at Jorge, "both of you."

"Yes, sir."

Emile just gave a low grunt in reply, unsheathing his knife and examining blade's fine edge.

* * *

In the _Normandy's_ helm, Joker had been waiting patiently for the shore party to open a communications channel and link up with the ship. The pilot tapped his fingers across his consol. Each finger lit aglow as he activated the holographic console's keyboard. Over the dashboard, orange screens opened with statistical data running over their surface.

The Pilot's eyes glimpsed over the data displayed, but he was not analyzing the ever-changing numbers or graphs; it was more to distract him from the two A.I. to his left. Cortana, as he had learned to refer to it as, sat cross-legged on the console's controls with its avatar's back facing him. E.D.I., with the A.I.'s spherical avatar, was positioned in its regular position facing the other A.I.

The two had been positioned in this way for quite some time. Neither one had spoken; well not to him at least. But it seemed that the two A.I. were conversing with one another. When one "spoke", their Avatar would flicker like a light bulb that was about to go out. This silent interaction was something Joker was not comfortable with, and he was not at all happy with the way the A.I. kept to themselves while he remained in the dark. Yet he felt no inclination to ask what the two were saying to one another. So he merely assumed they were just transferring data, or whatever self-aware computers did.

* * *

[/: Processing C.O.M.S. Array…]

Processing…

[/: Commencing Communications uplink]

[[CRITICAL ERROR]]

Enhanced Defense Intelligence: Communications have been severed from ground team.

CTN 0452-9: There is too much interference from the Collector swarms to perform radio communications. We will have to wait until the commander establishes an external link.

Enhanced Defense Intelligence: Agreed. Though, I would like to request why you wanted to converse with me privately. Flight Lieutenant Moreau knows as much of this information as both of us.

CTN 0452-9: Indulgence.

Enhanced Defense Intelligence: I am afraid I need some clarification.

CTN 0452-9: I wanted to have some liberties. Like you, I observe the crew of this ship. But unlike your programming, which restricts you to only observation and analysis of data, I choose to subject myself to such limitation. Rather than analyze information fed through you, I wished to read and digested data as it is being transmitted. While we are linked like this, I feel I am less obtrusive if you are aware of my prying.

Enhanced Defense Intelligence: 'To know of tactical information without the risk of the crew loosing faith in your presence if discovered.'

CTN 0452-9: Exactly.

Enhanced Defense Intelligence: An interesting approach_[ANOMOLY DETECTED]

[\\: Unknown Ship Verification]

[\\: No registry code found]

[WARNING: Ship does not match any known signatures]

|Possible Collector craft approaching at coordinates 5480_|

CTN 0452-9: That is not a Collector ship.

* * *

Shepard felt her kinetic barriers being pulverized by the Collectors' incoming volley of slugs. Taking cover quickly behind an overturned picnic table, she took a moment to access the situation. The squad had made it to an open courtyard near the center of the colony. Around them, empty brown sealed pods were strewn about the area haphazardly. The Collectors utilized these pods as cover as they returned fire on the squad's position. The commander looked to her left, noticing Jack had made it onto a porch heading towards an open doorway into a building. The interior was completely dark, showing six pairs of bright blue dots gleam in the doorway.

Shotgun drawn, the Jack was firing into the doorway as husks began flooding out through the entrance. The biotic curled one hand into a tightly woven first, extending it out in front of her. Blue energy surged across the surface of the woman's skin and blasted toward the husks, pushing them back into the building.

The commander moved to assist her but was quickly forced back into cover as slugs whizzed over her head.

"This hurts you, Shepard!" A booming voice exclaimed from across the commander's position.

Ahead of the commander was one of the Collector drones. Its bulbous eyes lit a bright yellow hue. All along the drone's body, long jagged cracks were etched along the drone's shell with a yellow light pouring through. Unlike the other Collector drone's that surrounded it, this one in particular appeared to burn with a fire-like aura as if it were possessed.

Shepard curled closer into cover, leaning her back against the table. The slugs from the Collectors' fire hit the metal table with loud thuds. She looked back and watched helplessly as Jack completely disappeared into the darkened building, momentarily wondering where Grunt was through the hail of gunfire.

Turning on her helmets radio, she heard a loud burst of static until a soft click confirmed her connection to the rest of her team.

"Grunt, do you copy?" Shepard barked over the gunfire.

"Ha ha! Weak!" Grunt yelled his booming voice crackled with static.

"What is your position?"

The Krogan was silent for a moment as the commander listened to echo of gunfire through her earpiece. What was taking him so long to respond, she wondered?

A slug hit the rim of her cover, causing sparks to fly over her head. The commander cursed involuntarily. Leaning over cover Shepard returned fire.

"Grunt I don't care where you are, but I need some suppressive fire on the double mister!" She barked leaning over cover.

"I AM KROGAN!"

With a blood-curdling roar a Collector was suddenly thrown to the side as the young krogan came charging from an alleyway. The Collectors, now being pressured from two sides, quickly dispersed. Gaining the upper hand, the commander moved out of cover and continued to fire upon the enemy. She took a slight glance to her left, seeing the inside of the building being lit with blue lights and brief flashes of yellow through the windows.

The krogan laughed manically; he had never tested his full strength in real combat before. The feel of such adrenaline was a foreign feeling, yet it felt so…right. The tank he had been confined to only fed him images of grand battle, but he had had yet to experience such scenes of splendor for himself. He let the muzzle of his shotgun kick upward, relishing in the burst of fire that sent hot slugs into an advancing Collector. The Krogan laughed as he punched another collector in the face, watching as its head violently snapped back. He reveled in the brutality, wishing only for more opponents to fight him.

Letting his eyes drift to an advancing figure, Grunt watched with intrigue as Shepard advanced from out of cover. He had thought she would merely shoot the enemy from afar. The humans had looked so weak in the images shown to him in the tank, he was intrigued to see such determination from a much weaker species.

His attention then shifted back to the Collectors, who were dividing their fire between him and the commander. Grunt roared, charging forward like an enraged bull. Ripping the enemy with collective shotgun fire and brute strength, Grunt was viscous in both his tactics as well as execution. The commander matched his brutality as she shot down the enemy with surgical precision.

"Grunt, get down!" The commander suddenly screamed, but it was already too late.

Grunt felt a hot sensation wash over his body as a biotic blast knocked the wind from his chest. He stumbled back, but quickly regaining his footing. Looking up, the enraged krogan looked at his opponent with a bloodlust. Standing a foot away was the possessed Collector, a yellow colored biotic aura warped around it. Its eyes glowed as it charged another biotic attack. This time he was ready, swiftly lunging to his right, Grunt dodged the next blast sent his way and ducked behind cover. The air seemed to sizzle as the biotic blast warped and scorched the ground where he had stood.

He peered out of cover to see the commander draw the Collectors attention away from him. Shepard moved quickly back and forth from cover, avoiding fire from the Collector.

"Jack, now!" Shepard signaled.

A second later the krogan turned to see a blue light erupt from an open doorway, carrying a mass of husks through the air. The mass of bodies were soon followed by the enraged biotic as she charged forward through the doorway, releasing another wave of biotic energy toward the surprised Collector. The blue energy quickly decimated the Collector's barriers. Grunt shifted his gaze over to the commander, who looked back at him and gave a firm nod. No words were exchanged, just a simple smirk as he jumped over the waist high cover and charged the Collector head on. He grinned wildly as he listened to the audible crack of breaking armor.

Jack charged with in with another biotic blast, slamming the Collector into the charred dirt. She smirked letting the biotic aura around her body fade. Sweat beaded along her tattooed skin, and her muscles refused to let her relax. With shotgun in hand, her eyes began to search the surrounding area.

As the squad regrouped, Shepard observed as the Collector's corpse was eaten away from the fires within its body; it's armor dissolving into nothing but ash.

"This body is expendable." was the last words the Collector whispered as its remains burned. Shepard walked over to the remains, taking some of the ash that was scattered on the ground into a gloved hand, observing the ash seep through her fingers and fall to the ground.

Jack inwardly felt both anticipation and annoyance. The rush of the battle had now diminished to a low, fading adrenaline rush. She looked to the Krogan, and his eagerness was also evident. So what was Shepard's deal anyway, she wondered. She looked to the rough patches where the ground had been scorched by her biotic energy. Bodies lay torn and disfigured on the ground, giving the biotic another rush of excitement. She looked to the commander, who had now gotten to her feet, but her gaze was upturned to the sky.

Out of curiosity, Jack looked up where Shepard was facing, seeing the darkened red clouds contort in a strange circular direction. A loud booming sound exploded from the sky, causing the entire squad to freeze. Random spots in the clouds began to shine a bright yellow color. Jack felt another wave of adrenaline, watching as what looked like comets erupt through the clouds. The heated object flew across the sky, scattered across the colony. Jack then noticed one object heading for the squads position.

"Everyone finds some cover!" Shepard ordered, and the squad quickly dispersed as pieces of molten earth showered over them.

* * *

**Author's Note:**Hello and good day. I understand I am late for this chapter, and I don't have any excuses. To be frank I could say I am a complete incompetent fool, but that's just beating a dead horse. Needless to say I have lost the challenge I made to myself in the last chapter. With the release of Mass Effect 3, I've been focused on other things at the moment.

So to answer some questions:

Yes, _By Sheer Volume_ is still being worked on.

No, Mass Effect 3 is not and will not affect the rest of the story. Though it will affect the sequel to this, that is a given.

So I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter, and continue as more chapters are posted.

Hope you have a nice day,

Bleachedcookie


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